The role of digital and financial technologies in innovative development of the region

The article analyzes digital and financial technologies as the main drivers of innovation in the financial sphere of the region. The trends of their development, their influence on the transformation of economic processes and the creation of new business models are considered. Special attention is paid to the innovative transformation of economic processes carried out through the active use of digital financial technologies. The aim of the work is to identify the factors that determine the gap between the leading and “lagging behind” regions. Measures to improve the situation in the less developed regions of the Far East and the North Caucasus, including the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania and the Republic of Ingushetia, are proposed. The methods of logical analysis of literature, system-structural and comparative analysis were used. In the course of studying the research topic, it was revealed that: digital and financial technologies are actively transforming the financial market of Russia, as evidenced by the stability of the national payment system “Mir”, the popularity of fast payment systems (FPS) and the growing use of contactless technologies; despite the progress, there are some possible problems in the introduction of technology, such as fraudulent actions, shortcomings in legal regulation, limited digital literacy of the population and conservative thinking of entrepreneurs; the gap between regions has caused differences in the level of development, level of education, availability of labor and government support. Based on the analysis, the authors conclude that it is necessary to combine the forces and resources of the state, business and science to achieve success in digital and financial technologies. Modern application of financial engineering and technologies can become a powerful driver of regional development, contributing to the improvement of the quality of life of the population and competitiveness of the economy.