Assessment of the impact of external environment on FinTech development

Abstract

Purpose – to propose an assessment tool of the environment of FinTech sector. Research methodology – systematic analysis of scientific literature has been carried out to form a methodology for FinTech sector environment assessment, which consists of quantitative methods used for the empirical research of the study as follows: PEST analysis, expert evaluation, determination of indicators’ values, normalization of data, multi-criteria assessment (the Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) method). Findings – the practical application of the developed assessment tool is verified by completing an empirical study on the example of the leading FinTech countries as well as the Baltic States. Recommendations for further Lithuanian FinTech sector development are provided. Research limitations – research is based on an assessment of the significance of external environmental indicators of FinTech sector development on a country level. Due to the large number of indicators and countries, only a fraction of factors and countries were selected for research. Therefore, the object of the research requires a more detailed study in the future. Practical implications – the development of FinTech sector has been growing dramatically in the recent years on a global scale, with some countries leading the way due to a more favourable environment. The results show that the proposed assessment tool for the development of the FinTech sector can be used by policymakers in different countries to identify the external environmental factors to improve in order to create better conditions for the development of the FinTech sector. Originality/Value – a new methodology and tool for FinTech environment assessment is developed by the authors as a contribution to the formation of better environment for FinTech sector development. The developed tool provides an opportunity to study the strong and weak sides of the environment development of the FinTech sector, to compare the good practices of other countries and to get ideas for changes in order to create a more favourable environment for the FinTech development on a country level.