Volume 6 • Issue 1 • PP: 25–34 • 2026
Scaling Trustworthy Digital Finance in Asia and the Middle East: A Regional Evidence Review and Institutional Readiness Framework
Open Access & Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s). Published by ASPG. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
View PDF Abstract
Digital finance has made significant progress in Asia and the Middle East, but it is not one-size-fits-all in terms of performance in inclusion, productivity, or stability. The key limitation is now institutional, not technical: Payment rails, data-sharing structures, regulatory capability, market capacity, and protections need to be built up in lockstep. This article summarizes 34 peer-reviewed papers from 2020 to 2025 and sets up an institutional-readiness framework for trustworthy digital finance for the region. The synthesis brings together elements of structured evidence coding, comparative evidence analysis of East and Southeast Asian evidence, evidence from the Gulf Cooperation Council and broader Middle East, and cross-regional emerging-market evidence analysis. Five interdependent pillars emerge: digital public infrastructure; data governance and interoperability; adaptive regulation; market capability and inclusive adoption; and resilience with consumer protection. The evidence from Asia is more extensive with regard to outcomes at the household- and firm-level, platform-enabled inclusion, and digital infrastructure, whereas evidence from the Middle East is more focused on outcomes related to platform adoption by regulators, bank performance, and governance conditions. In both regions, positive results are undermined by asymmetric data access, weak markets, low consumer capability, and low innovation coupled with the lack of post-deployment supervisions. The article suggests an order of implementation for both national and cross-border initiatives, identifies the research gaps and proposes a research agenda for ASEAN-GCC digital-finance corridors. A core message is that trustworthy scale relies on institutional complementarity – innovation’s developmentally valuable only if it is supported by development of infrastructure, rules, capabilities and safeguards.
Keywords
References
[1] H. Banna, M. K. Hassan, and M. Rashid, “Fintech-based financial inclusion and bank risk-taking: Evidence from OIC countries,” vol. 75, p. 101447, 2021.
[2] N. Emara and A. El Said, “Financial inclusion and economic growth: The role of governance in selected MENA countries,” vol. 75, pp. 34–54, 2021.
[3] H. H. Khan, S. Khan, and A. Ghafoor, “Fintech adoption, the regulatory environment and bank stability: An empirical investigation from GCC economies,” vol. 23, no. 6, pp. 1263–1281, 2023.
[4] D. Basnayake, A. Naranpanawa, S. Selvanathan, and J. S. Bandara, “Financial inclusion through digitalization and economic growth in Asia-Pacific countries,” vol. 96, p. 103596, 2024.
[5] D. B. Vukovi´c, M. K. Hassan, B. Kwakye, A. Febtinugraini, and M. Shakib, “Does fintech matter for financial inclusion and financial stability in BRICS markets?” vol. 61, p. 101164, 2024.
[6] Y. Liu, L. Luan, W. Wu, Z. Zhang, and Y. Hsu, “Can digital financial inclusion promote China’s economic growth?” vol. 78, p. 101889, 2021.
[7] C.-C. Lee, X. Li, C.-H. Yu, and J. Zhao, “Does fintech innovation improve bank efficiency? evidence from China’s banking industry,” vol. 74, pp. 468–483, 2021.
[8] S. Luo, Y. Sun, and R. Zhou, “Can fintech innovation promote household consumption? evidence from China family panel studies,” vol. 82, p. 102137, 2022.
[9] W. Xi and Y. Wang, “Digital financial inclusion and quality of economic growth,” vol. 9, no. 9, p. e19731, 2023.
[10] C.-C. Lee, R. Lou, and F. Wang, “Digital financial inclusion and poverty alleviation: Evidence from the sustainable development of China,” vol. 77, pp. 418–434, 2023.
[11] S. Karim, F. Naz, M. A. Naeem, and S. A. Vigne, “Is Fin- Tech providing effective solutions to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in ASEAN countries?” vol. 75, pp. 335–344, 2022.
[12] H.-B. Ong, S. Wasiuzzaman, L.-L. Chong, and S.-W. Choon, “Digitalisation and financial inclusion of lower middle-income ASEAN,” vol. 9, p. e13347, 2023.
[13] Q. K. Nguyen and V. C. Dang, “The effect of FinTech development on financial stability in an emerging market: The role of market discipline,” vol. 5, p. 100105, 2022.
[14] H. Nguyen Quoc, H. Nguyen Van, and D. Le Quoc, “Financial inclusion in the digital era and its impact on sustainable development across ASEAN countries through combined nonparametric methods,” vol. 6, p. 1378, 2025.
[15] P. Yue, A. G. Korkmaz, Z. Yin, and H. Zhou, “The rise of digital finance: Financial inclusion or debt trap?” vol. 47, p. 102604, 2022.
[16] C.-C. Lee, W. Ni, and X. Zhang, “FinTech development and commercial bank efficiency in China,” vol. 57, p. 100850, 2023.
[17] S. Akmal, M. Talha, S. M. Faisal, M. Ahmad, and A. K. Khan, “Perceptions about FinTech: New evidences from the Middle East,” vol. 11, no. 1, p. 2217583, 2023.
[18] B. Abu Khalaf, A. Al-Sharkas, and A. Sarea, “Realizing
opportunities: The influence of FinTech on the success
of MENA banks,” vol. 6, p. 501, 2025.
[19] M. Palmié, J. Wincent, V. Parida, and U. Caglar, “The evolution of the financial technology ecosystem: An introduction and agenda for future research on disruptive innovations in ecosystems,” vol. 151, p. 119779, 2020.
[20] A. Lagna and M. N. Ravishankar, “Making the world a better place with fintech research,” vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 61–102, 2022.
[21] D. A. L. M. Sant’Anna and P. N. Figueiredo, “Fintech innovation: Is it beneficial or detrimental to financial inclusion and financial stability? a systematic literature review and research directions,” vol. 60, p. 101140, 2024.
[22] A. Tarawneh, A. Abdul-Rahman, S. I. Mohd Amin, and M. F. Ghazali, “A systematic review of fintech and banking profitability,” vol. 12, no. 1, p. 3, 2024.
[23] D. T. T. Ha, P. Le, and D. K. Nguyen, “Financial inclusion and fintech: A state-of-the-art systematic literature review,” vol. 11, p. 69, 2025.
[24] N. Del Sarto and P. K. Ozili, “FinTech and financial inclusion in emerging markets: A bibliometric analysis and future research agenda,” vol. 20, no. 13, pp. 270– 290, 2025.
[25] L. Gumbo and U. A. K. Chude-Okonkwo, “Regulatory sandbox as a frontier for innovation and sustainability: A systematic review,” vol. 12, no. 1, p. 2510555, 2025.
[26] C.-T. Lye, L.-Y. Tay, T. H. Ng, and A. N. Ahmad-Nazmi, “A systematic literature review of fintech, financial inclusion and vulnerable groups,” vol. 6, p. 1467, 2025.
[27] M. J. Page, J. E. McKenzie, P. M. Bossuyt, I. Boutron, T. C. Hoffmann, C. D. Mulrow, L. Shamseer, J. M. Tetzlaff, E. A. Akl, S. E. Brennan, R. Chou, J. Glanville, J. M. Grimshaw, A. Hróbjartsson, M. M. Lalu, T. Li, E. W. Loder, E. Mayo-Wilson, S. McDonald, L. A. McGuinness, L. A. Stewart, J. Thomas, A. C. Tricco, V. A. Welch, P. Whiting, and D. Moher, “The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews,” vol. 372, p. n71, 2021.
[28] B. Koranteng and K. You, “Fintech and financial stability: Evidence from spatial analysis for 25 countries,” vol. 93, p. 102002, 2024.
[29] J. Li, J. Li, X. Zhu, Y. Yao, and B. Casu, “Risk spillovers between FinTech and traditional financial institutions: Evidence from the U.S.” vol. 71, p. 101544, 2020.
[30] J. J. Goo and J.-Y. Heo, “The impact of the regulatory sandbox on the fintech industry, with a discussion on the relation between regulatory sandboxes and open innovation,” vol. 6, no. 2, p. 43, 2020.
[31] J. Kálmán, “The role of regulatory sandboxes in Fin- Tech innovation: A comparative case study of the UK, Singapore, and Hungary,” vol. 4, no. 2, p. 26, 2025.
[32] M. M. Thottoli, M. A. Islam, A. Ahsan, M. F. Yusof, M. S. Hassan, and R. S. Chowdhury, “Exploring mediating and moderating factors of FinTech adoption for innovations in SMEs,” vol. 12, no. 1, p. 2387443, 2024.
[33] D. Mhlanga, “Industry 4.0 in finance: The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on digital financial inclusion,” vol. 8, no. 3, p. 45, 2020.
[34] J. Fu and M. Mishra, “Fintech in the time of COVID- 19: Technological adoption during crises,” vol. 50, p. 100945, 2022.
[35] L.-Y. Tay, H.-T. Tai, and G.-S. Tan, “Digital financial inclusion: A gateway to sustainable development,” vol. 8, no. 6, p. e09766, 2022.
Cite This Article
Choose your preferred format
Publisher's Note
The statements, opinions, and data presented in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of ASPG, the journal, or its editors. ASPG and the editors disclaim responsibility for any harm arising from the use of any ideas, methods, instructions, or products described in this article, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.