IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jfinte/v4y2025i1p4-d1570192.html

Exploring Financial Literacy in Higher Education with the Help of FinTech: A Bibliometric Analysis of Linkages to Access, Behavior, and Well-Being Through Digital Innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Ionut Marius Croitoru

    (Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Business Engineering and Management, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica, 060042 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Paula-Paraschiva Dragan (SPIRIDON)

    (Doctoral School of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timisoara, 300223 Timisoara, Romania)

  • Nicoleta Daniela Ignat

    (Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Business Engineering and Management, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica, 060042 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Romanita Jumanca

    (Romanian and Foreign Languages Department, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 300041 Timisoara, Romania)

Abstract

This study explores the dynamic interaction between financial literacy and higher education, focusing on the critical role of financial education in improving individual financial well-being. Using bibliometric analysis and the VOSviewer software, this research examines thematic clusters in financial literacy, categorized into access, behavior, health, and education. By analyzing 469 articles from the Web of Science database (2020–2024), this study identifies trends and key linkages between financial literacy and societal well-being, highlighting the role of digital innovation. While FinTech is discussed as a facilitator of financial inclusion and education, the primary focus lies in understanding how financial literacy drives behavioral change, capacity building, and economic resilience. This paper provides information for policymakers and educators to design inclusive, behaviorally focused educational programs that address specific demographic needs, ultimately contributing to societal and economic resilience.

Suggested Citation

  • Ionut Marius Croitoru & Paula-Paraschiva Dragan (SPIRIDON) & Nicoleta Daniela Ignat & Romanita Jumanca, 2025. "Exploring Financial Literacy in Higher Education with the Help of FinTech: A Bibliometric Analysis of Linkages to Access, Behavior, and Well-Being Through Digital Innovation," FinTech, MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-17, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jfinte:v:4:y:2025:i:1:p:4-:d:1570192
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2674-1032/4/1/4/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2674-1032/4/1/4/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Donthu, Naveen & Kumar, Satish & Mukherjee, Debmalya & Pandey, Nitesh & Lim, Weng Marc, 2021. "How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 285-296.
    2. Otilia Manta, 2024. "Financial Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development," FinTech, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-3, August.
    3. Mohammad Sahabuddin & Md. Nazmus Sakib & Md. Mahbubur Rahman & Adamu Jibir & Mochammad Fahlevi & Mohammed Aljuaid & Sandra Grabowska, 2023. "The Evolution of FinTech in Scientific Research: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-16, April.
    4. Radu Șimandan & Beatrice Leuștean & Răzvan Mihai Dobrescu, 2022. "An Uphill Battle: Financial Education in Romania in the Midst of Societal Transformation," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-19, October.
    5. Ahmet F. Aysan & Zhamal Nanaeva, 2022. "Fintech as a Financial Disruptor: A Bibliometric Analysis," FinTech, MDPI, vol. 1(4), pages 1-22, December.
    6. Ioannis Kosmas & Theofanis Papadopoulos & Georgia Dede & Christos Michalakelis, 2023. "The Use of Artificial Neural Networks in the Public Sector," FinTech, MDPI, vol. 2(1), pages 1-15, March.
    7. Khanh Duy Pham & Vu Linh Toan Le, 2023. "Nexus between Financial Education, Literacy, and Financial Behavior: Insights from Vietnamese Young Generations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-21, October.
    8. Ole Ellegaard & Johan A. Wallin, 2015. "The bibliometric analysis of scholarly production: How great is the impact?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 105(3), pages 1809-1831, December.
    9. Hiranya Dissanayake & Catalin Popescu & Anuradha Iddagoda, 2023. "A Bibliometric Analysis of Financial Technology: Unveiling the Research Landscape," FinTech, MDPI, vol. 2(3), pages 1-16, August.
    10. Daniela Gabor & Sally Brooks, 2017. "The digital revolution in financial inclusion: international development in the fintech era," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(4), pages 423-436, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Farah Husna Mohd Fatzel & Wan Razazila Wan Abdullah & Norhayati Zamri, 2025. "Mapping the Research Landscape of Financial Literacy in Accounting Education: A Bibliometric Analysis," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(3s), pages 6835-6843, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sujeeth Ungratwar & Dipasha Sharma & Satish Kumar, 2025. "Mapping the digital banking landscape: a multi-dimensional exploration of fintech, digital payments, and e-wallets, with insights into current scenarios and future research," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-22, December.
    2. Ahmed Razman Latiff & Mohammad Zakaria Alqudah & Husni Samara & Naji Alslaibi, 2025. "Empowering the financial sector: the role of fintech research development trends," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-22, December.
    3. Mohammad Sahabuddin & Md. Nazmus Sakib & Md. Mahbubur Rahman & Adamu Jibir & Mochammad Fahlevi & Mohammed Aljuaid & Sandra Grabowska, 2023. "The Evolution of FinTech in Scientific Research: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-16, April.
    4. repec:ers:journl:v:xxviii:y:2025:i:1:p:761-782 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Migliavacca, Milena & Goodell, John W. & Paltrinieri, Andrea, 2023. "A bibliometric review of portfolio diversification literature," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    6. Güler Koştı & İsmail Kayadibi, 2025. "A bibliometric analysis of artificial intelligence and machine learning applications for human resource management," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-19, December.
    7. Cihangir Kaçmaz & Osman Tayyar Çelik, 2025. "Life Satisfaction in Adolescence: A Bibliometric Analysis," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 18(5), pages 1927-1955, October.
    8. Théodore Nikiema & Eugène C. Ezin & Sylvain Kpenavoun Chogou, 2023. "Bibliometric Analysis of the State of Research on Agroecology Adoption and Methods Used for Its Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-18, November.
    9. Antonios Persakis & Theodoros Nikolopoulos & Ioannis C. Negkakis & Athanasios Pavlopoulos, 2025. "Greenwashing in marketing: a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 22(4), pages 957-992, December.
    10. Ainun Hasanah & Jing Wu, 2025. "Bibliometric analysis and global research trends of climate change and cities studies for 30 years (1990–2021)," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 5573-5617, March.
    11. Manta Eduard Mihai & Davidescu Adriana Ana Maria & Geambasu Maria Cristina & Florescu Margareta Stela, 2023. "Exploring the research area of direct taxation. An empirical analysis based on bibliometric analysis results," Management & Marketing, Sciendo, vol. 18(s1), pages 355-383, December.
    12. Satish Kumar & Dipasha Sharma & Sandeep Rao & Weng Marc Lim & Sachin Kumar Mangla, 2025. "Past, present, and future of sustainable finance: insights from big data analytics through machine learning of scholarly research," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 345(2), pages 1061-1104, February.
    13. Albiona Pestisha & Zoltán Gabnai & Aidana Chalgynbayeva & Péter Lengyel & Attila Bai, 2023. "On-Farm Renewable Energy Systems: A Systematic Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-25, January.
    14. Marius Ionel Cetina & Oana Raluca Ivan, 2021. "The Importance of Internal Audit In Public Sector Research - A Bibliometric Study -," Ovidius University Annals, Economic Sciences Series, Ovidius University of Constantza, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 0(2), pages 976-986, December.
    15. Carlos Sampaio & João Renato Sebastião & Luís Farinha, 2024. "Hospitality and Tourism Demand: Exploring Industry Shifts, Themes, and Trends," Societies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-14, October.
    16. Maria Denisa Vasilescu & Simona Andreea Apostu & Eva Militaru & Eglantina Hysa, 2022. "Public Opinion on European Health Policy, Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-17, April.
    17. Weisheng Chiu & Thomas Chun Man Fan & Sang-Back Nam & Ping-Hung Sun, 2021. "Knowledge Mapping and Sustainable Development of eSports Research: A Bibliometric and Visualized Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-17, September.
    18. E. Bonhoure & R. Bawack, 2024. "Review of the Coverage of Financial Inclusion Research Since the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals: What Has Changed?," Post-Print hal-04828293, HAL.
    19. Paulo Escandón-Panchana & Gricelda Herrera-Franco & María Jaya-Montalvo & Sandra Martínez-Cuevas, 2025. "Geomatic tools used in the management of agricultural activities: a systematic review," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(7), pages 15275-15309, July.
    20. Rajitha Sachinthaka & Roohollah Kalatehjari & Martin S. Brook, 2025. "Evolution and critical evaluation of deterministic physically based rainfall-induced landslide susceptibility mapping: a mixed review," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 121(18), pages 20795-20818, November.
    21. Julie Birkenmaier & Jin Huang, 2024. "A systematic conceptual review of financial access," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(2), pages 367-396, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jfinte:v:4:y:2025:i:1:p:4-:d:1570192. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.