Cybersecurity, FinTech Adoption and Associated Socio-Economic Environment in Select Middle and High-Income Countries

Present article examines the cybersecurity preparedness in G20 countries along with the adoption of FinTech and the status of socio-economic factors such as financial literacy, education, rule of law, regulatory quality, financial sector development etc. Based on analysis, it is observed that the middle-income countries are particularly more spirited in adoption of FinTech. Though the trend is in line with the larger technology driven financial inclusion goals of these countries, the lack of fitting socio-economic environment, lower cybersecurity engagements and a charged cyber offensive environment prevalent in these countries present a complex scenario. It is assessed that addressing the wide cybersecurity gaps through policies for prevention, investigation, arbitration, adjudication and compensation would be a challenging task for the middle-income countries with low cybersecurity engagements. Though FinTech certainly adds on efficiency part, considering the complex scenario, increasing depth and access of financial services through FinTech needs to be a measured process in these countries. The article contributes in terms of combining the three-diverse set of indicators pertaining to cybersecurity, FinTech and Socio-economic environment and initiating a discussion on how the most vulnerable set of countries may mitigate the risks and capitalize FinTech for sustainable development of the financial sector