The Impact of Fintech and Effective IT Governance on Green Institutional Activities in ‎Saudi Arabia

There is an increase in environmental pressures and the digital transformation in the financial ‎sector. This study examines how financial technology (FinTech) and the effectiveness of IT ‎governance (EITG) influence green institution activities (GIA) within various financial ‎institutions of Saudi Arabia. Addressing the critical gap in the emerging markets of Saudi Arabia, ‎a quantitative approach was applied by using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling ‎‎(PLS-SEM) on the data collected from 419 respondents within Saudi financial institutions. The ‎findings of the study reveal that FinTech has a weak direct impact on GIA, while it significantly ‎enhances GIA when mediated through effective IT governance, which demonstrates the need to ‎align IT governance frameworks with the deployment of FinTech to enhance environmental ‎performance. The findings highlight the critical role of digital financial innovation in enhancing ‎the sustainability of financial sectors. Furthermore, the study offers key practical implications for ‎financial institutions to integrate ESG objectives into their FinTech deployment strategies to ‎foster a green digital ecosystem through governance and regulatory support. This study reinforces ‎the strategic importance of integrating FinTech with institutional alignment to achieve insights ‎into digital sustainability goals in line with the broader economic diversification agenda of Saudi ‎Arabia, Vision 2030‎.