Financial geography II: The impacts of FinTech – Financial sector and centres, regulation and stability, inclusion and governance

Abstract

In this report, I review interdisciplinary research on the actual and potential consequences of FinTech, with emphasis on ideas from and for geographers, and three areas: financial sector and centres, financial regulation and stability, and financial inclusion and governance. I show that the consequences of FinTech are full of controversies, which are part of broader, long-standing debates on the role of finance in economy and society, and need to be approached from geographical perspectives. The intense fusion of fin and tech, arguably accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, complicates and elevates these controversies to a new level.