Financial System in the Digital Age: Opportunities, Challenges and Future Directions

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Economics and Finance, School of Business and Finance, University of Latvia, LV-1013 Riga, Latvia
Interests: artificial intelligence; financial systems; digital transformation; quantitative methods in finance; risk management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of the International Journal of Financial Studies is designed for financial systems in digital age questions. In the digital age, the financial system is undergoing significant transformation due to technological innovations. Digitalization offers opportunities by improving access to finance for households and companies, as well as providing new possibilities for investors. In this context, there is insufficient research to date on the impact of digitalization on intermediated finance, market finance, risk mapping, and sustainability constraints. The future of finance lies in navigating these challenges and leveraging the transformative potential of the digital era. This Special Issue aims at gathering key contributions in this field. I encourage submissions that combine theoretical and applied contributions, as for research in finance to be effective for its audience, it must strike a balance between these factors.

Topics include the following:

  • Digitalization, driven by trends like big data, blockchain,;
  • Improved access to financial services;
  • Changing customer expectations;
  • Impact from digitalization on intermediated finance (e.g., banks, fintechs);
  • Impact from digitalization on market finance (e.g., stock markets);
  • Algorithmic trading;
  • Cashless payments;
  • Geneartive AI effects on financial system;
  • Risk mapping evolution;
  • Cybersecurity threats;
  • Sustainability considerations in finance.

Dr. Aivars Spilbergs
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Financial Studies is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • financial system
  • digital transformation
  • financial inclusion
  • risk mapping
  • generative AI
  • sustainability in finance

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

29 pages, 850 KB  
Article
AI, Sustainability and Value Creation: Empirical Insights from Saudi Banks (2015–2024)
by Amina Hamdouni
Int. J. Financial Stud. 2025, 13(4), 202; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijfs13040202 (registering DOI) - 31 Oct 2025
Viewed by 81
Abstract
The objective of this study is to investigate how responsible AI governance mechanisms influence value creation and sustainability in Saudi banks over the period 2015–2024. Using a panel dataset from listed Saudi banks and combining ESG disclosure metrics with financial indicators, we investigate [...] Read more.
The objective of this study is to investigate how responsible AI governance mechanisms influence value creation and sustainability in Saudi banks over the period 2015–2024. Using a panel dataset from listed Saudi banks and combining ESG disclosure metrics with financial indicators, we investigate whether AI adoption and AI-related disclosures enhance banks’ market and accounting performance while strengthening sustainability outcomes. We apply robust panel regressions, control for bank-specific characteristics, and run sensitivity checks to address endogeneity and measurement concerns. The empirical findings indicate that higher levels of AI adoption are positively and significantly associated with both value creation and sustainability performance. Furthermore, Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel Granger causality tests confirm a unidirectional causal relationship from AI adoption to both financial and sustainability outcomes. Overall, the results suggest that responsible AI integration may enhance sustainable value creation in the Saudi banking sector. Full article
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