Addressing the gap: A review of Fintech literature in the age of finance 4.0 and Agentic AI

Abstract

The financial industry is undergoing a structural shift from traditional digital tools toward Finance 4.0 and Agentic AI, intelligent systems capable of reasoning, planning, and autonomous action. Existing Fintech literature, however, largely focuses on early-stage adoption and fails to capture this transformative shift. Addressing this gap, this study provides the first systematic synthesis of Fintech research within the emergent contexts of Finance 4.0 and Agentic AI. We employ a dual- method approach, combining a quantitative bibliometric analysis of 318 Scopus-indexed articles (2015–2024) with a qualitative narrative review of the 55 most-cited papers and 14 high-impact non-Scopus sources (including leading working papers). Our analysis reveals three core research streams: (1) Adoption & Innovation, (2) Market Impact & Inclusion, and (3) Regulation & Stability. We map these streams to five foundational theories, i.e., Diffusion Theory, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Financial Intermediation Theory, Inclusion Theory, and Regulatory Arbitrage Theory, providing empirical validation while exposing critical contradictions and gaps. Key findings reveal a significant intellectual fragmentation: tech-heavy research (e.g., AI, machine learning) remains disconnected from socioeconomic objectives (e.g., income equality, financial inclusion) and regulatory policy frameworks. Based on this synthesis, we propose a targeted future research agenda prioritising three under-explored areas: the moderating role of regulatory regimes on AI-driven inequality, the long-term performance of bank- Fintech alliances in autonomous finance, and the harmonisation of cross-national regulations for Agentic AI. This study offers regulators and financial institutions a necessary roadmap to navigate systemic risks from algorithmic bias to market volatility before they escalate in the Finance 4.0 era.