The study showed that fintech growth in Europe, America, and globally has the strongest correlation with the size of the cybersecurity market, with correlation coefficients of 0.8714, 0.9762, and 0.8607, respectively. In Asia, however, fintech growth was more closely tied to the size of the consumer electronics market (0.9403), while in Africa, it correlated with consumer spending volumes (0.7427). Thus, globally, cybersecurity emerges as the most significant driver of fintech growth — where stronger protection facilitates a more robust fintech environment.

From an economic standpoint, high-income countries exhibited the most correlations, notably with the size of the cybersecurity market (0.6923), consumer electronics (0.5839), average wage rates (0.6237), and consumer spending volumes (0.6971). In contrast, low-income economies showed no significant correlations. For middle-income countries, fintech volumes correlated with nominal GDP (0.5373), cybersecurity market (0.5727), consumer electronics market (0.5637), fintech hubs (0.5409), and volumes of consumer spending (0.6136).

One more interesting finding was the measurable impact of various factors on fintech transactions. For example, for every $1 million increase in the global cybersecurity market, fintech transactions per adult are expected to rise by $31.6. Similarly, a $1 increase in the average hourly wage could boost fintech transactions by $67.5. The establishment of just one more fintech hub could increase global fintech transactions per capita by $839.

Remarkably, as a country’s income grows, the correlation between fintech growth and two factors — cybersecurity market size and average wage rates — becomes stronger. It means that these factors may indeed influence the development of fintech in a country.

A deeper non-linear analysis further validated the significance of these factors. It revealed that the cybersecurity market is the most influential driver of fintech growth, with 63% of significance, followed by the average wage rate (13%). 

The study considered data from 2022 for 146 countries, which were grouped into four regions: Asia, Europe, Africa and America. The potential factors under consideration included gender ratio, nominal GDP per capita, Internet penetration, cybersecurity market volumes per capita, consumer electronics market volumes, number of fintech hubs per 100,000 people, average hourly wages, consumer spending per capita, direct investment as a share of GDP, unemployment rates, trade volume relative to GDP, and share of urban population.