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Research Paper | Information Technology | Volume 15 Issue 6, June 2026 | Pages: 1690 - 1698 | India
The Impact of FinTech Applications on Personal Financial Management: A Critical Review of Recent Evidence (2021-2026)
Abstract: Financial technology (FinTech) applications have moved the everyday management of money out of the bank branch and onto the smartphone, placing payment, budgeting, investing and borrowing tools directly in the hands of individuals. This review critically synthesises recent evidence (2021?2026) on how these applications affect personal financial management (PFM). Drawing on systematic reviews and primary studies indexed in Scopus, Web of Science and major publishers, it maps seven application classes- digital payments, mobile banking, personal-finance apps, robo-advisors, investment platforms, buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services, and cryptocurrency- and traces the behavioural channels through which they shape budgeting, saving, investing, financial literacy, credit management and inclusion. The evidence is genuinely double-edged. The same features that improve visibility, lower cost and widen access can also encourage over-spending, over-confidence and over-reliance, with effects that depend heavily on a user?s financial literacy and on the surrounding regulatory environment. Real-time payment infrastructures such as India?s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) demonstrate FinTech?s inclusive potential at population scale, while BNPL and speculative crypto trading illustrate its capacity to amplify financial harm among the most vulnerable. A comparative analysis of eighteen major studies reveals consistent agreement on adoption drivers but sharp contradictions on welfare outcomes. The review identifies nine research gaps?most notably the scarcity of long-run causal evidence, the neglect of adolescents and students, and the imbalance toward developed-economy data?and sets out a future agenda relevant to students, working professionals and developing economies such as India. The central conclusion is that FinTech is not inherently beneficial or harmful; its net effect on personal financial management is a design and literacy problem rather than a purely technological one.
Keywords: FinTech applications, personal financial management, financial literacy, digital payments, robo-advisors, buy-now-pay-later, financial inclusion, UPI
How to Cite?: Saksham Chawla, Raghu Raja Mehra, "The Impact of FinTech Applications on Personal Financial Management: A Critical Review of Recent Evidence (2021-2026)", Volume 15 Issue 6, June 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1690-1698, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR26628083012, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR26628083012