IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/riibaf/v69y2024ics0275531924000102.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of FinTech innovation on digital financial literacy in Europe: Insights from the banking industry

Author

Listed:
  • Ferilli, Greta Benedetta
  • Palmieri, Egidio
  • Miani, Stefano
  • Stefanelli, Valeria

Abstract

Within the evolving financial industry, characterised by the proliferation of FinTech and exacerbated by the Covid-19 , this paper investigates the unexplored relationship between financial, social, infrastructural factors and the level of digital financial divide (DFD) in Europe. Applying a difference-in-difference model, the study reveals that innovation in financial services correlates with a reduced DFD, further reinforced by improved digital infrastructure and social progress. However, the post-Covid environment has widened the gap in EU financially illiterate regions. Our results hold relevance for policymakers, governments, and supervisory banking authorities, indicating the most effective areas for intervention in lowering the country's DFD, but they could also support banks in the design of tailor-made digitalization strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Ferilli, Greta Benedetta & Palmieri, Egidio & Miani, Stefano & Stefanelli, Valeria, 2024. "The impact of FinTech innovation on digital financial literacy in Europe: Insights from the banking industry," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:69:y:2024:i:c:s0275531924000102
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102218
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0275531924000102
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102218?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    2. Atkinson, Adele & Messy, Flore-Anne, 2011. "Assessing financial literacy in 12 countries: an OECD/INFE international pilot exercise," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(4), pages 657-665, October.
    3. Ammari, Aymen & Allodi, Evita & Salerno, Dario & Stella, Gian Paolo, 2023. "An asymmetrical approach to understanding consumer characteristics in banking trust during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    4. Christian Engels & Kamlesh Kumar & Dennis Philip, 2020. "Financial literacy and fraud detection," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(4-5), pages 420-442, March.
    5. Andreas Fuster & Matthew Plosser & Philipp Schnabl & James Vickery, 2019. "The Role of Technology in Mortgage Lending," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 1854-1899.
    6. van Rooij, Maarten & Lusardi, Annamaria & Alessie, Rob, 2011. "Financial literacy and stock market participation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(2), pages 449-472, August.
    7. Lusardi, Annamaria & Samek, Anya & Kapteyn, Arie & Glinert, Lewis & Hung, Angela & Heinberg, Aileen, 2017. "Visual tools and narratives: new ways to improve financial literacy," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(3), pages 297-323, July.
    8. Sun, Hongyan & Yuen, Desmond C.Y. & Zhang, Jiahang & Zhang, Xu, 2020. "Is knowledge powerful? Evidence from financial education and earnings quality," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    9. Sanderson, Eleanor & Windmeijer, Frank, 2016. "A weak instrument F-test in linear IV models with multiple endogenous variables," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 190(2), pages 212-221.
    10. Maman Setiawan & Nury Effendi & Teguh Santoso & Vera Intanie Dewi & Militcyano Samuel Sapulette, 2022. "Digital financial literacy, current behavior of saving and spending and its future foresight," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(4), pages 320-338, May.
    11. Annamaria Lusardi & Olivia S. Mitchell, 2014. "The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 52(1), pages 5-44, March.
    12. Masduki, 2021. "Media Control in the Digital Politics of Indonesia," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(4), pages 52-61.
    13. Lusardi, Annamaria & Mitchell, Olivia S., 2007. "Baby Boomer retirement security: The roles of planning, financial literacy, and housing wealth," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 205-224, January.
    14. Calvo, Guillermo, 2012. "Financial crises and liquidity shocks a bank-run perspective," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(3), pages 317-326.
    15. Beck, Thorsten & Chen, Tao & Lin, Chen & Song, Frank M., 2016. "Financial innovation: The bright and the dark sides," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 28-51.
    16. Susan Athey & Guido W. Imbens, 2006. "Identification and Inference in Nonlinear Difference-in-Differences Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(2), pages 431-497, March.
    17. Berger, Allen N, 2003. "The Economic Effects of Technological Progress: Evidence from the Banking Industry," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 35(2), pages 141-176, April.
    18. Dasgupta, Susmita & Lall, Somik & Wheeler, David, 2001. "Policy reform, economic growth, and the digital divide - an econometric analysis," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2567, The World Bank.
    19. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    20. Murshed, Muntasir & Ahmed, Rizwan & Al-Tal, Raad Mahmoud & Kumpamool, Chamaiporn & Vetchagool, Witchulada & Avarado, Rafael, 2023. "Determinants of financial inclusion in South Asia: The moderating and mediating roles of internal conflict settlement," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    21. Michael Demoussis & Nicholas Giannakopoulos, 2006. "Facets of the digital divide in Europe: Determination and extent of internet use," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(3), pages 235-246.
    22. Wintoki, M. Babajide & Linck, James S. & Netter, Jeffry M., 2012. "Endogeneity and the dynamics of internal corporate governance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(3), pages 581-606.
    23. Kok Choon Tay & Calvin M. L. Chan, 2021. "Digital Transformation of Banks: The Case of DBS," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: David Kuo Chuen Lee & Ding Ding & Chong Guan (ed.), Financial Management in the Digital Economy, chapter 8, pages 141-161, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    24. Johnsona, Robert R. & Buetow, Gerald W. & Jensen, Gerald R., 1999. "International mutual fund returns and Federal Reserve policy," Financial Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 199-210.
    25. Adele Atkinson & Flore-Anne Messy, 2011. "Assessing financial literacy in 12 countries: an OECD Pilot Exercise," CeRP Working Papers 115, Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies, Turin (Italy).
    26. Wang, Yang & Xiuping, Sui & Zhang, Qi, 2021. "Can fintech improve the efficiency of commercial banks? —An analysis based on big data," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    27. Cragg, John G. & Donald, Stephen G., 1993. "Testing Identifiability and Specification in Instrumental Variable Models," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 222-240, April.
    28. , Michelle, 2021. "Digital Platforms Utilization for MSMEs Growth," OSF Preprints uj83w, Center for Open Science.
    29. Lyons, Angela C. & Kass-Hanna, Josephine & Fava, Ana, 2022. "Fintech development and savings, borrowing, and remittances: A comparative study of emerging economies," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(PA).
    30. Gallego-Losada, María-Jesús & Montero-Navarro, Antonio & García-Abajo, Elisa & Gallego-Losada, Rocío, 2023. "Digital financial inclusion. Visualizing the academic literature," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    31. Krokida, Styliani-Iris & Makrychoriti, Panagiota & Spyrou, Spyros, 2020. "Monetary policy and herd behavior: International evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 386-417.
    32. Peng, Geng & Liu, Fang & Lu, Wenyi & Liao, Kaicheng & Tang, Changan & Zhu, Lei, 2018. "A spatial-temporal analysis of financial literacy in United States of America," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 56-62.
    33. Murinde, Victor & Rizopoulos, Efthymios & Zachariadis, Markos, 2022. "The impact of the FinTech revolution on the future of banking: Opportunities and risks," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Azra Zaimovic & Anes Torlakovic & Almira Arnaut-Berilo & Tarik Zaimovic & Lejla Dedovic & Minela Nuhic Meskovic, 2023. "Mapping Financial Literacy: A Systematic Literature Review of Determinants and Recent Trends," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-30, June.
    2. Tim Kaiser & Lukas Menkhoff, 2017. "Does Financial Education Impact Financial Literacy and Financial Behavior, and If So, When?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 31(3), pages 611-630.
    3. Bannier, Christina E. & Schwarz, Milena, 2018. "Gender- and education-related effects of financial literacy and confidence on financial wealth," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 66-86.
    4. Zuzana Brokesova & Andrej Cupak & Gueorgui Kolev, 2017. "Financial literacy and voluntary savings for retirement in Slovakia," Working and Discussion Papers WP 10/2017, Research Department, National Bank of Slovakia.
    5. Davoli, Maddalena & Rodríguez-Planas, Núria, 2020. "Culture and adult financial literacy: Evidence from the United States," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Agarwal, Sumit & Amromin, Gene & Ben-David, Itzhak & Chomsisengphet, Souphala & Evanoff, Douglas D., 2015. "Financial literacy and financial planning: Evidence from India," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 4-21.
    7. Tiina Koskelainen & Panu Kalmi & Eusebio Scornavacca & Tero Vartiainen, 2023. "Financial literacy in the digital age—A research agenda," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(1), pages 507-528, January.
    8. Francisco Gomes & Michael Haliassos & Tarun Ramadorai, 2021. "Household Finance," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 59(3), pages 919-1000, September.
    9. Albert Hizgilov & Jacques Silber, 2020. "On Multidimensional Approaches to Financial Literacy Measurement," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(3), pages 787-830, April.
    10. Remya Tressa Jacob & Rudra Sensarma, 2022. "Does knowledge empower? A story of debt literacy and credit usage in rural consumer finance," Working papers 529, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode.
    11. Amjad Khan Suri & Sonal Purohit, 2017. "An Analysis of Personal Financial Literacy among Expatriates in the United Arab Emirates," Contemporary Review of the Middle East, , vol. 4(3), pages 278-296, September.
    12. Annamaria Lusardi & Olivia S. Mitchell, 2014. "The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 52(1), pages 5-44, March.
    13. Isha Bajaj & Mandeep Kaur, 2024. "Validating Financial Knowledge Scale Using Item Response Theory," Vision, , vol. 28(2), pages 225-236, April.
    14. Mark Kaahwa & Chang Zhu & Moses Muhumuza & Rodgers Mutyebere & Robert Mawenu, 2019. "Assessing the efficacy of Audio Media Technology in enhancing Financial Literacy Knowledge of Radio Listening Club Members. A case of selected Rural Communities in Western Uganda," Proceedings of Teaching and Education Conferences 9612203, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences.
    15. Delis, Manthos & Galariotis, Emilios & Monne, Jerome, 2021. "Economic condition and financial cognition," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    16. Davoli, Maddalena & Rodríguez-Planas, Núria, 2021. "Preferences, Financial Literacy, and Economic Development," IZA Discussion Papers 14759, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Rob Ranyard & Simon McNair & Gianni Nicolini & Darren Duxbury, 2020. "An item response theory approach to constructing and evaluating brief and in‐depth financial literacy scales," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 1121-1156, September.
    18. Sant'Anna, Dário A.L.M. & Figueiredo, Paulo N., 2024. "Fintech innovation: Is it beneficial or detrimental to financial inclusion and financial stability? A systematic literature review and research directions," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    19. Choung, Youngjoo & Chatterjee, Swarn & Pak, Tae-Young, 2023. "Digital Financial Literacy and Financial Well-Being," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue Journal P, pages 1-1.
    20. Guo, Pin & Zhang, Cheng, 2023. "The impact of bank FinTech on liquidity creation: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Financial literacy; Digital skills; FinTech; Financial inclusion; Banking;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G53 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Financial Literacy
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:69:y:2024:i:c:s0275531924000102. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ribaf .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.