F MARIO ANDARU
Biography
I’m a financial archiTECH, where I connect the dots between economic systems with strategic finance and cutting-edge technology. My bread and butter is helping CEOs to optimizing financial performance for sustainable growth and a future-proof business.
Research Interest
Accounting and Finance Lecturer
Abstract
The Gatekeeper and Enabler
As the digital financial landscape becomes increasingly complex and the pressure for global sustainability intensifies, banks and fintech companies are assuming a pivotal role as both gatekeepers and enablers of a more ethical and sustainable economy. A central challenge is aligning financial innovation with concrete sustainability goals — particularly in how risk is assessed.
The rapid rise of services like Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) illustrates how traditional risk assessment models — focused primarily on short-term financial capacity — are no longer sufficient. A new paradigm is needed: one that genuinely integrates Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) parameters into core risk algorithms, not as a compliance checkbox, but as foundational metrics. This refinement involves incorporating social indicators such as user financial vulnerability, the long-term impact of impulsive consumption, and the ethical behavior of merchants and business partners.
From an environmental perspective, future risk algorithms must also evaluate the ecological impact of the industries being financed — not solely on profitability, but on long-term operational sustainability. Thus, financial institutions should not only assess who is creditworthy, but also who is ethically f inanceable — based on a holistic understanding of responsibility and sustainability. This shift calls for risk models that are not only accurate, but also accountable.
It is in this dual capacity that banking and fintech must lead — as moral stewards of economic flow (gatekeepers) and as catalysts of structural change (enablers) toward a more just and sustainable financial system.
