REFLECTIONS OF FINANCIAL DIGITALIZATION ON FOREIGN TRADE AND THE ENVIRONMENT: A CASE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Özet

With the acceleration of digitalization particularly alongside advances in information Technologies the migration of a wide range of activities to digital environments has become inevitable. Traditional shopping habits are increasingly giving way to online platforms where innovative approaches continually emerge. Thanks to the diffusion of digital technologies, consumers gain the ability to quickly compare and select products suited to their needs from a broad set of options. This transformation compels national and international firms to operate under more competitive conditions. Consequently, the implications of digitalization for the economy and trade should be regarded as strategically important. Extraordinary circumstances such as global pandemics further amplify firms’ need to leverage digital technologies to reach customers. In parallel with advances in financial technologies, digitalization is driving rapid and profound transformation in the financial sector; this change affects not only modes of service delivery but also the structural dynamics of international trade. Novel business models enabled by financial digitalization stand out as a decisive driving force in the transformation of traditional trade structures. The spread of digital payment systems and mobile banking can increase the speed and efficiency of commercial transactions, thereby influencing export and import performance. At the same time, aligning financial digitalization with environmental sustainability objectives and enabling a transition to lower‑carbon financial architectures through digital solutions should be expected.On the other hand, the expansion of e‑commerce volumes can exacerbate environmental pollution stemming from energy use and carbon emissions. The infrastructural components of digitalization generate high energy demand; data centers, cloud computing infrastructures, and continuously operating servers consume substantial amounts of electricity. Especially in developing countries, energy‑intensive implementations of digitalization can widen the ecological footprint and diminish the visibility of potential environmental benefits. As e‑commerce becomes more widespread, increased logistics activity can also raise transport‑related carbon emissions.The environmental impacts of financial digitalization exhibit a complex pattern; the direction of these impacts varies depending on the quality of digital infrastructure, the composition of energy sources used, and whether the regulatory framework is oriented toward sustainability.