Search results

With the rapid development of the economy in China, the wealth of residents has continued to increase, and most families have gradually been aware of the importance of commercial insurance. The family purchase of insurance in China was still not optimistic. Many scholars focus on wealth allocation, but the attention to the commercial insurance market was still less. Based on previous research studies, this study aims to investigate the impact of education and financial literacy on the commercial insurance purchase in China.

China Household Finance Survey data was used to investigate the purchase of commercial insurance in Mainland Chinese families. Factor analysis was used to construct financial literacy, and the education data were combined to analyze the commercial insurance purchase using the Probit model and the Tobit model. Finally, the contributions of education and financial literacy to commercial insurance purchases were analyzed.

Both education and financial literacy exerted a positive impact on the purchase of commercial insurance in China. Individual characteristics such as gender, age, marital status, risk attitude, purchase of social insurance and consultation with a financial advisor possessed significant effects; household factors like household size and assets, macro factors such as the density of financial institutions and the density of financial industry staff, and regional factors as local unemployment rate excreted influences on the commercial insurance purchase.

Based on the current economic development in China, this study investigated and expressed opinions on the public and insurance companies regarding commercial insurance purchases. It accentuated financial literacy and education as factors that facilitated commercial insurance development.

Although Islamic banks offer superior financial services than other interest-based conventional banks, they could not expand their share and dominate the markets in several Islamic countries. This problem could be attributed to some causes not addressed. The current study proposes Islamic financial literacy as an important factor that could help aggress this problem. Due to a wide variety of Islamic financial services and the lack of understanding of these services, the banks' small business customers are indifferent between Islamic and interested-based conventional services to finance their business.

This study uses the exploratory technique of multiple correspondence analysis to detect any potential role of Islamic financial literacy in customers' preference for Islamic banks over conventional ones. The potential effect was tested with other essential factors, such as the customers' age, gender, and educational level. This analysis was conducted on a data set from 2061 banks' small businesses customers using the mall-intercept survey method.

The study shows a low level of Islamic financial literacy among Yemeni banks' small business owners' customers. Furthermore, despite integrating some critical factors that could influence the actual bank selection process among Yemini banks' customers, the authors found a decisive potential role of Islamic financial literacy as one of the key determinants of bank selection preferences.

This is the first paper to explore the potential role of Islamic financial literacy on the actual selection between Islamic Banks and their counterparts: the conventional banks in Yemen. The research results could build a more comprehensive theoretical model on Islamic banks' customer behavior.

Financial illiteracy could pose a significant challenge to micro-entrepreneurs. There is a pressing need to foster financial literacy;, therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine particularly how Islamic financial literacy may enhance their businesses toward achieving financial sustainability.

This study uses quantitative methods. Three hundred (300) questionnaires were distributed to micro-entrepreneurs in three states in Malaysia, namely, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu. This study used the partial least squares (PLS) analysis using the SmartPLS 3.2.

The study found that the most robust Islamic financial literacy factors are financial behavior, followed by financial knowledge and financial attitude .The outcome of Islamic financial literacy, which is financial sustainability, also demonstrates a positive and significant relationship.

All variables show a positive and significant relationship toward financial sustainability. Stated differently, micro-entrepreneurs are aware that understanding the basic concepts of Islamic finance may help them achieve long-term financial sustainability

This study incorporates Islamic financial concepts into financial literacy while also assessing demographic aspects like years of business operation and education as moderators, which were not considered by previous studies.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become a global humanitarian challenge. This scourge has impacted people from all walks of life as well as every economic sector and activity, from travel to automotives, hotels to banking, and supply chain to retail. The pandemic has affected not only physical and mental health but also financial health. Studies have examined the pandemic's economic impact, but very few have examined its impact on personal finances. Efforts to contain the pandemic's spread, such as lockdowns, have resulted in suspended business operations throughout the world that have intensified joblessness. To prepare and protect people from such unforeseen situations, financial education and planning are necessary. We attempt to expand the evidence on this issue by applying a structural equation modelling approach to identify the mediating role of financial literacy programs in preparing and protecting household wealth against sudden worldwide setbacks. The research design is descriptive and exploratory using snowball sampling technique. The data was collected through an internet survey. In total, 400 survey responses were obtained. After testing the measurement model for key validity dimensions, the hypothesised causal relationships are examined in several path models. The results indicated that coronavirus awareness exerts a direct or indirect influence on the financial health of individuals through financial literacy. We conclude that financial literacy has a full mediating effect on the personal finance of individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings not only contributed to the need and understanding of financial literacy but also have managerial implications. Financial literacy programs provide investment advice and suggestions which are actionable and also work to help individuals to come out stronger in terms of knowledge and skill set when the COVID-19 crisis passes.

The main purpose of this study is to test for the interaction effect of digital literacy in the relationship between financial technologies (FinTechs) of biometrics and mobile money and digital financial inclusion among the unbanked poor women, youth and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in rural Uganda.

Covariance-based structural equation modeling was used to construct the interaction effect using data collected from the unbanked poor women, youth and PWDs located in the four regions in Uganda as prescribed by Hair et al. (2022).

The findings from this study are threefold: first; the results revealed a positive interaction effect of digital literacy between FinTechs of biometrics and mobile money and digital financial inclusion. Second; the results also confirmed that biometrics identification positively promotes digital financial inclusion. Lastly; the results showed that mobile money positively promotes digital financial inclusion. A combination of FinTechs of biometrics and mobile money together with digital literacy explain 29% variation in digital financial inclusion among the unbanked poor women, youth and PWDs in rural Uganda.

The data for this study were collected mainly from the unbanked poor women, youth and PWDs. Further studies may look at data from other sections of the vulnerable population in under developed financial markets. Additionally, the data for this study were collected only from Uganda as a developing country. Thus, more data may be obtained from other developing countries to draw conclusive and generalized empirical evidence. Besides, the current study used cross sectional design to collect the data. Therefore, future studies may adopt longitudinal research design to investigate the impact of FinTechs on digital financial inclusion in the presence of digital literacy across different time range.

The governments in developing countries like Uganda should support women, youth, PWDs and other equally vulnerable groups, especially in the rural communities to understand and use FinTechs. This can be achieved through digital literacy that can help them to embrace digital financial services and competently navigate and perform digital transactions over digital platforms like mobile money without making errors. Besides, governments in developing countries like Uganda can use this finding to advocate for the design of appropriate digital infrastructures to reach remote areas and ensure “last mile connectivity for digital financial services' users.” The use of off-line solutions can complement the absence or loss of on-line network connectivity for biometrics and mobile money to close the huge digital divide gap in rural areas. This can scale-up access to and use of financial services by the unbanked rural population.

This paper sheds more light on the importance of digital literacy in the ever complex and dynamic global FinTech ecosystem in the presence of rampant cyber risks. To the best of the authors' knowledge, limited studies currently exist that integrate digital literacy as a moderator in the relationship between FinTechs and digital financial inclusion, especially among vulnerable groups in under-developed digital financial markets in developing countries. This is the novelty of the paper with data obtained from the unbanked poor women, youth and PWDs in rural Uganda.

Currently, consumers of financial products and services have become more vulnerable to predatory financial institutions, especially in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, financial consumers like the persons with disabilities (PWDs) should be equipped with knowledge and skills to help them to evaluate complex financial products on offer in financial markets, especially in developing countries to avoid being victims of fraudulent lending. The purpose of this study is to establish whether customized financial literacy mediates the relationship between financial consumer protection and financial inclusion of PWDs’ owned MSMEs in rural Uganda post Covid-19 pandemic.

SmartPLS 4.0 was used to construct the measurement and structural equation models to test whether customized financial literacy significantly mediates the relationship between financial consumer protection and financial inclusion of PWDs’ owned MSMEs in rural Uganda post Covid-19 pandemic.

The results revealed a partial mediating effect of customized financial literacy in the relationship between financial consumer protection and financial inclusion of PWDs’ owned MSMEs in rural Uganda post Covid-19 pandemic. Conducting customized financial literacy increases financial consumer protection by 12 percentage points to promote financial inclusion of PWDs’ owned MSMEs in rural Uganda post Covid-19 pandemic.

This study focused only on customized financial literacy and financial consumer protection to promote universal financial inclusion of PWDs’ owned MSMEs post Covid-19 pandemic. Future studies may use data collected from other vulnerable groups amongst the unbanked population in developing countries, Uganda inclusive. In addition, this study also collected only quantitative data from the selected population. Further studies can be conducted using key informant interviews and focused group discussion to get the perceptions of the PWDs on being protected from exploitation by unscrupulous financial institutions.

The findings from this study can help policymakers in developing countries like Uganda to revise the existing consumer protection law to include strong clauses on protection of people with special needs like the PWDs. The law must ensure that they are not exploited by financial institutions because of their conditions. The law ought to make sure that the PWDs are educated about their rights in the financial market place and all information on financial products offered by financial institutions should be simplified and interpreted to them before they make consumption decisions.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study is amongst the first few studies to provide a meticulous and unique discourse on the ever increasing role of financial literacy combined with consumer protection to reduce consumption risks within the financial markets, especially in developing countries in the aftermath of global pandemic shocks. This study uses the social learning theory, theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behaviour to elucidate how customized financial literacy can enhance consumer protection to increase financial inclusion of groups with special needs like the PWDs who have become more susceptible to exploitation by unscrupulous financial institutions in under-developed financial markets, especially in post Covid-19 pandemic.

Focusing on micro-level indicators, we investigate financial inclusion levels in rural China, examining its determinants and impact on household welfare. We construct a financial inclusion index of four essential financial services: savings, digital payments, credit and insurance. We identify factors influencing financial inclusion among Chinese rural households and assess the effects of financial inclusion on household welfare.

With the entropy method, we use data from the 2019 China Household Finance Survey to assess financial inclusion levels in rural China. Determinants and their impact on welfare are analyzed through probit and ordinary least squares models, respectively. Propensity scoring matching is applied to address potential endogeneity.

We reveal that rural households exhibit limited usage of formal financial services, with notable regional disparities. The eastern region enjoys the highest financial inclusion and the central region lags behind. Household characteristics such as family size, education level of the household head, income, employment status and financial literacy significantly influence financial inclusion. Financial inclusion positively impacts household welfare as indicated by household consumption expenditure. The use of different types of financial services is crucial with varying but significant effects on household welfare.

This study offers valuable insights into China’s rural financial inclusion progress, highlighting potential barriers and guiding government actions.

The goal of this study was to determine the impact of access to credit facilities on financial performance among farmers of cooperative societies. The study also tested the predictive power of financial literacy.

The descriptive survey research design was used for the study while the sample size was 240 farmers of cooperative societies from South-East Nigeria. The farmers were categorised into those with access to credit facilities and those without access to credit facilities. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. Data were analysed using multiple analyses of variance (MANOVA) and multiple regression analysis.

Farmers with access to credit facilities reported higher financial performance such as return on investment, working capital, net profit, profit margin and sales. However, those without access to credit facilities reported lower mean scores on financial performance. Also, financial literacy, like financial knowledge, attitude and awareness, significantly predicts the impact of access to credit facilities on financial performance. It was also found that the duration of repayment of credit facilities, like medium and long term, contributes more to improving financial performance.

This study has shown that even though access to credit facilities impacts financial performance, financial literacy is an important consideration. Also, the duration of repayment is a crucial factor.

The authors investigate the role of financial literacy in influencing the relationship between human capital and social capital, with access to finance of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Data were gathered from 337 MSMEs in Brunei Darussalam, and analysis on the data was carried out using a number of statistical methods. The relationships between human capital, social capital, financial literacy and access to finance were analyzed using PLS-SEM.

The results show that human capital does influence access to finance but contrary to previous studies, the influence is negative. Financial literacy is an important element in the relationship between human capital, social capital and access to finance, although it plays a greater role in the relationship between social capital and access to finance. Further analysis shows that financial knowledge is significant in moderating the relationships between human and social capital with access to finance. Financial skills is found to only moderate the relationship between social capital and access to finance.

To the authors' knowledge, this study is the first that integrates the human capital, social capital, financial literacy and access to finance in a single model. The authors also highlight the importance of enhancing the financial literacy of MSMEs so that the problem of access to finance can be alleviated, especially in developing countries.