Purpose This study examines the environmental impacts of financial technology (Fintech) development and elucidates the mediating role of natural resources in the relationship between Fintech and the environment. The study adopts a multidimensional environmental perspective by simultaneously considering environmental degradation and environmental quality. Design/methodology/approach The study employs panel data from 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries over the period 2000–2021. Environmental degradation is measured using the ecological footprint (ecf), while environmental quality is proxied by the ecological efficiency (sdi). The analysis applies panel-corrected standard error and method of moments quantile regression to address heteroskedasticity, autocorrelation, non-normality and potential endogeneity. Findings Fintech exerts a positive environmental impact in ASEAN countries. Specifically, Fintech significantly reduces environmental degradation across all quantiles and improves environmental quality from the 30th to the 90th quantiles. The study also identifies a transmission channel through natural resources, whereby Fintech contributes to environmental improvement by reducing natural resource rents. The magnitude of the mediating effect ranges from 20.802% to 49.726% for environmental degradation, while for environmental quality, it increases from 39.437% to 64.706% across quantiles. Originality/value This study provides empirical evidence on the heterogeneous, quantile-based effects of Fintech on environmental outcomes and clarifies the underlying mediating mechanism through natural resources. Based on these findings, the study proposes policy implications emphasizing the strengthening of market-based instruments and intelligent technological solutions in the financial and banking sectors to enhance the economic value of natural resources and contribute to the achievement of SDG 13.
Tran et al. (Mon,) studied this question.