As the world accelerates into the digital age, the intersection of financial technology (FinTech) and ageing populations emerges as a critical focus area demanding intensive scholarly scrutiny. Recent research synthesizes extensive bibliometric data to uncover the complex landscape of FinTech adoption among older adults, revealing notable gaps and global disparities that could shape inclusive future financial systems. This emerging body of knowledge exposes five dominant factors affecting FinTech adoption: digital literacy, trust, usability, social influence, and intergenerational engagement, all of which interact differently depending on cultural and infrastructural contexts.
Intriguingly, behavioural research and technology adoption—the twin pillars that could unlock deeper understanding of this demographic’s interaction with FinTech—remain surprisingly underexplored. Despite the centrality of human behaviour in technology usage, theoretical models tailored to older adults’ unique needs and environments are still nascent. This knowledge deficit suggests an urgent call for developing context-sensitive frameworks that integrate sociocultural nuances and regional infrastructural variability. Tailored behavioural adoption models could illuminate why certain cohorts adopt digital finance readily, while others lag, enhancing targeted intervention strategies.
Research must also grapple with the profound influence of social norms and intergenerational dynamics on trust in FinTech platforms. Trust, a notoriously fragile commodity in digital finance, is often mediated through family or peer interactions among older adults. Understanding how these social forces either build or erode confidence in financial technologies remains an open inquiry, especially across disparate socioeconomic landscapes. Experimental and mixed-method approaches are well-positioned to dissect these relationships, providing empirical evidence that grounds theoretical insights in lived realities.
Compounding these challenges is the observed variation in usability and accessibility barriers that rural and urban older populations encounter in different countries. Digital environments are far from homogeneous; infrastructural deficiencies or design limitations may disproportionately exclude economically or geographically marginalized groups. This heterogeneity calls for granular, region-specific studies to pinpoint precise obstacles and create tailored usability solutions, thereby democratizing access to financial innovations.
Mapping the bibliometric trends globally uncovers striking imbalances in research representation and technological uptake. Regions such as Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia remain conspicuously underrepresented in the academic discourse, suggesting an urgent need to expand empirical focus. The slow pace of adoption in these areas is exacerbated by precarious financial conditions among the elderly, regulatory gaps, and inconsistent policy execution, which cumulatively undermine the potential benefits of FinTech. The absence of robust data further handicaps efforts to evaluate and improve adoption rates, underscoring a systemic research bottleneck.
The study’s meta-theoretical contribution lies in synthesizing disparate strands of research to highlight why and where populations are underserved or overlooked. This synthesis is pivotal not only for academic scholarship but also for practitioners and policymakers aiming to design inclusive digital finance systems. Bridging the data divide and emphasizing underrepresented contexts could unlock transformative insights, ultimately fostering more equitable access to wealth-building and financial security in old age.
Cross-cultural disparities present another formidable layer of complexity. While cognitive and behavioural traits of ageing populations show remarkable consistency worldwide, the socio-economic contexts differ profoundly. Urban seniors in developed economies may benefit from advanced digital infrastructures and extensive FinTech options, whereas their counterparts in rural or economically deprived settings face stark obstacles ranging from poor connectivity to low digital literacy. These disparities challenge the notion of a universal approach, emphasizing instead the necessity for contextually relevant interventions that respect localized realities.
Countries like China and India are often spotlighted due to their rapid digital financial service growth among older adults. Yet, within these apparently successful narratives lurk persistent inequalities. Rural populations and economically disadvantaged older individuals are disproportionately marginalized, often unable to navigate or benefit fully from digital finance ecosystems. The dual challenge lies not only in scaling adoption but also in ensuring inclusivity and equity, fostering digital literacy, and dismantling systemic barriers.
A promising avenue for fostering greater trust and usability involves leveraging intergenerational engagement and knowledge transfer. Older adults frequently rely on younger family members or community figures to interface with unfamiliar financial technologies. Future research focusing on experimental and mixed-method designs can empirically validate how such social mechanisms enhance confidence and competence in FinTech use. This social scaffolding may offer a powerful lever for policy interventions aimed at boosting adoption rates among ageing populations.
Moreover, region-specific lenses are imperative to fully apprehend the ramifications of ageing within diverse economic ecosystems. The impact of financial exclusion or digital marginalization varies dramatically between high-income countries with aging populations and emerging economies where poverty and infrastructural deficits intersect. Designing and implementing longitudinal, cross-cultural studies allow a dynamic understanding of these phenomena, charting trajectories over time rather than snapshots bound by single contexts.
Technical complexities surrounding digital literacy encapsulate far more than skills acquisition or interface familiarity. They encompass cognitive ageing patterns, motivational factors, and psychological openness to technology, which all interplay with economic incentives and trust constructs. Incorporating these multifactorial considerations into behavioural models can yield sophisticated predictors of adoption likelihood, helping tailor interventions that resonate with older adults’ lived experiences and technological anxieties.
Regulatory frameworks also play a critical, though often underexplored, role in shaping the FinTech adoption landscape for older adults. In many developing countries, inadequate or poorly enforced regulations hinder safe and accessible digital finance access, fostering mistrust and exclusion. Future studies must analyze regulatory environments in tandem with behavioural and technical factors to recommend comprehensive policy designs that safeguard older users while promoting innovation.
The anticipated expansion of digital financial services worldwide will invariably influence older adults’ economic stability, inclusion, and empowerment. To harness these promises, multi-disciplinary research that bridges social sciences, technology design, gerontology, and policy studies is essential. This integrative approach can identify enablers and dismantle barriers across technological, behavioural, and structural levels, ensuring that financial technology’s benefits reach even the most underserved elderly populations.
Finally, large-scale data initiatives focusing on collecting robust, longitudinal indicators related to FinTech use among older adults will provide the empirical backbone for future inquiry. These datasets will enable nuanced analysis surrounding adoption trajectories, usage patterns, and sociodemographic factors across regions. Collaborative efforts between academia, industry, and governments to bridge data gaps are paramount to inform evidence-based decision-making and to stimulate inclusive innovation.
In conclusion, the global panorama of FinTech adoption among older adults reveals a multi-dimensional puzzle interwoven with technological, behavioural, social, infrastructural, and policy threads. This review’s synthesis calls for renewed attention to underexamined themes—especially behavioural research and cross-cultural inclusivity—while advocating for contextually grounded, methodologically rigorous studies that transcend traditional boundaries. As digital finance reshapes the contours of economic participation, embracing this complexity will pave the way for truly inclusive financial ecosystems that empower older adults worldwide.
Subject of Research: FinTech adoption among older adults, focusing on behavioural, social, and infrastructural enablers and barriers for inclusive digital finance.
Article Title: FinTech and older adults: a global synthesis of enablers, barriers, and research trends for inclusive digital finance.
Article References:
S, A., Sengupta, A. FinTech and older adults: a global synthesis of enablers, barriers, and research trends for inclusive digital finance. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 12, 1792 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-06077-z
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