TY - JOUR
T1 - The future of green finance
T2 - how digital transformation and FinTech drive sustainability
AU - Zaid, Mohammed Abdulrahman Kaid
AU - Khan, Mohammed Farooque
AU - Al-Mekhlafi, Abdul Wasea Abdul Ghani Saif
AU - Al Koliby, Ibraheem Saleh
AU - Saoula, Oussama
AU - Saeed, Hayat Atta Elmnan Mohammed
AU - Mohammad, Reda Abdelfattah
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.
PY - 2025/12
Y1 - 2025/12
N2 - Despite the growing interest in green finance, its impact on sustainable performance remains inconclusive. This study investigates the effect of green finance on sustainable performance while exploring the moderating roles of financial technology (FinTech) adoption and digital transformation in this relationship. Using a survey of 152 employees from Saudi banks, data were analyzed using hierarchical regression with the PROCESS Macro tool. The results confirm a positive relationship between green finance and sustainable performance. In addition, FinTech adoption significantly moderates this relationship, enhancing the effectiveness of green finance. Importantly, the three-way interaction analysis reveals that digital transformation acts as a second-order moderator, as it strengthens the moderating effect of FinTech in the green finance–sustainable performance relationship. These results offer valuable insights into how digital capabilities condition the effectiveness of green finance in emerging economies. For policymakers and financial institutions, the findings highlight the importance of integrating digital tools and infrastructure to fully harness the benefits of green finance, where they suggest that the adoption of advanced financial technologies in conjunction with digital transformation can enhance sustainable performance, particularly in economies undergoing digital and environmental transitions, such as Saudi Arabia.
AB - Despite the growing interest in green finance, its impact on sustainable performance remains inconclusive. This study investigates the effect of green finance on sustainable performance while exploring the moderating roles of financial technology (FinTech) adoption and digital transformation in this relationship. Using a survey of 152 employees from Saudi banks, data were analyzed using hierarchical regression with the PROCESS Macro tool. The results confirm a positive relationship between green finance and sustainable performance. In addition, FinTech adoption significantly moderates this relationship, enhancing the effectiveness of green finance. Importantly, the three-way interaction analysis reveals that digital transformation acts as a second-order moderator, as it strengthens the moderating effect of FinTech in the green finance–sustainable performance relationship. These results offer valuable insights into how digital capabilities condition the effectiveness of green finance in emerging economies. For policymakers and financial institutions, the findings highlight the importance of integrating digital tools and infrastructure to fully harness the benefits of green finance, where they suggest that the adoption of advanced financial technologies in conjunction with digital transformation can enhance sustainable performance, particularly in economies undergoing digital and environmental transitions, such as Saudi Arabia.
KW - Digital transformation
KW - Fintech
KW - Green finance
KW - Saudi Arabia
KW - Sustainable performance
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105006898842&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s43621-025-01356-w
DO - 10.1007/s43621-025-01356-w
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105006898842
SN - 2662-9984
VL - 6
JO - Discover Sustainability
JF - Discover Sustainability
IS - 1
M1 - 480
ER -
