Green <scp>FinTech</scp> —Methodological Controversies in Research

ABSTRACT The vast majority of research in the area of green FinTech indicates the positive impact of the use of digital technologies in finance on the environment. However, preliminary literature studies have revealed serious doubts about the way in which these results were obtained. The paper aims to determine the methodological correctness of research on the assessment of the impact of FinTech on the natural environment. The authors identified three research streams within the field of green FinTech, with the greatest controversies found in studies employing econometric models. A critical analysis of the literature shows that most studies have chosen incorrect variables to represent the development of FinTech. The variables cover a wide area of information and communication technologies; individual financial services are used to represent the complex phenomenon of FinTech, and there is a complete lack of references to artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and green aspects of financial services. Furthermore, no distinction was made between the FinTech approach by subject and by object, and inappropriate definitions were used for the phenomenon analysed. The conclusions of the study are addressed to researchers and concern the need for an in‐depth understanding of the research problem, a critical approach to the results of previous research in the field of green FinTech, and the selection of appropriate variables used in models. The work concludes with recommendations for international institutions regarding the construction of a green FinTech index and provides a preliminary framework for its structure.