Fintechs and Institutions: Evidence from an Emerging Economy

Diogo Campos-Teixeira (), Jorge Tello-Gamarra, João Reis (), André Andrade Longaray and Martin Hernani-Merino
Additional contact information
Diogo Campos-Teixeira: Macquarie Business School, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
Jorge Tello-Gamarra: Department of Agroindustrial Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande, Santo Antônio da Patrulha 95500-000, Brazil
João Reis: Industrial Engineering and Management, Faculty of Engineering, Lusófona University and EIGeS, 1749-024 Lisboa, Portugal
André Andrade Longaray: Institute of Economic, Administrative and Accounting Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande, Rio Grande 96203-000, Brazil
Martin Hernani-Merino: Department of Marketing and International Business, Universidad del Pacífico, Lima 15072, Peru

JRFM, 2025, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-27

Abstract: Institutions play a vital role in restricting or encouraging the performance of any economic agent. In this context, fintechs represent a vector of exponential change in the global financial system and its institutions. However, despite the existing relationship between fintechs and institutions, there is a need for more studies exploring the connections between them. Beginning with a framework that integrates aspects of the relation between fintechs and institutions in the financial system, the objective of this article is to empirically demonstrate the interaction between fintechs and financial system institutions in an emerging country. To do so, the chosen research method was an embedded case study, which involved documental analysis and semi-structured interviews conducted with different agents in the Brazilian financial system, belonging to the following categories: technology providers, fintechs, regulatory institutions, financial institutions, and consumers. The findings validate the applicability of the theoretical framework, highlighting that fintechs drive institutional changes across stakeholders with different characteristic traits. Based on these results, we created theoretical propositions that guide future studies on the topic of fintechs and institutions. This study’s contributions provide valuable insights for financial policymakers, regulators, and technology providers, particularly regarding the adaptation of regulatory frameworks and technological infrastructures in emerging economies. For policymakers, this study suggests guidelines to foster financial inclusion through fintech initiatives, while managers are encouraged to develop strategies that reduce operational gaps in digital financial services.

Keywords: fintechs; institutions; institutional change; financial system; Brazil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C E F2 F3 G (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/18/4/212/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1911-8074/18/4/212/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jjrfmx:v:18:y:2025:i:4:p:212-:d:1634058

Access Statistics for this article

JRFM is currently edited by Ms. Chelthy Cheng

More articles in JRFM from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().