DIGITAL FINANCIAL SERVICES AS THE MAIN PRODUCT OF FINTECH COMPANIES

Semenog A.

Sumy State University,
Sumy, Ukraine


Pages: 142-152


Original language: Ukrainian

DOI: 10.21272/1817-9215.2021.4-17

Summary:

Despite the widespread use of the category “digital financial services” and its apparent importance in financial relations in the formation of the digital economy, the theoretical nature of digital financial services remains insufficiently disclosed and proven. In addition, the understanding of digital financial services is too narrow, given the growing trend of their use in the world as the main product of fintech companies. The article aims to analyze and compare existing approaches to understanding the essence of digital financial services and justify our own approach considering the trends caused by the activities of fintech companies in the digital economy. In this context, the paper finds that most scholars and experts view digital financial services in the context of financial inclusion and low-cost access to financial services in developing countries, identifying this category with mobile money or mobile financial services as a process of using mobile phones to access to financial services and basic financial transactions. The bibliometric analysis of scientific works devoted to studying the category “digital financial services” allowed to identify four clusters of scientific publications that identify critical features of digital financial services, characterizing them as an integral part of the digital economy. There are three groups of components: finance, the digital economy, and people’s needs. Also, the author’s definition and graphic substantiation of the essence of digital financial services are offered in work. The analysis proves that digital financial services are part of finance and fintech products of the financial sector, provided within various forms of e-commerce using current information and digital technologies to meet the needs and values of different gender components, financial security, place of residence, social status, and type of employment of different categories of people. The comparative characteristics of traditional and digital financial services are presented. Several advantages of digital financial services for meeting the needs of consumers are emphasized. It is determined that the success of digital financial services depends on the combination of digital technologies and business innovations chosen by the fintech company within a specific fintech area, which includes the areas of payments, digital banking, lending, insurance, and capital management.

Keywords:
digital financial services, fintech, digital technologies, digital economy, digital finance, mobile financial services

Reference:
  1. Perlman, L. (2018). An introduction to digital financial services (DFS). SSRN Electronic Journal. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3370667.
  2. Malady, L., & Buckley, R. P. (2014). Building consumer demand for digital financial services the new regulatory frontier. SSRN Electronic Journal. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2478482.
  3. David-West, O., Iheanachor, N., & Kelikume, I. (2018). A resource-based view of digital financial services (DFS): An exploratory study of Nigerian providers. Journal of Business Research88, 513–526. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.01.034.
  4. Rana, N. P., Luthra, S., & Rao, H. R. (2019). Key challenges to digital financial services in emerging economies: The Indian context. Information Technology & People33(1), 198–229. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/itp-05-2018-0243.
  5. Haider, H. (2018). Innovative financial technologies to support livelihoods and economic outcomes(K4D Helpdesk Report). Institute of Development Studies. Available at: https://gsdrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Digital_financial_services.pdf.
  6. The digital financial services ecosystem(Focus Group Technical Report). (2016). ITUFGDFS (T Focus Group Digital Financial Services). Available at: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/focusgroups/dfs/Documents/09_2016/FINAL%20ENDORSED%20ITU%20DFS%20Introduction%20Ecosystem%2028%20April%202016_formatted%20AM.pdf.
  7. Digital financial inclusion. (2015). CGAP. Available at: https://www.cgap.org/research/publication/digital-financial-inclusion.
  8. Mobile financial services: Basic terminology(Guideline Note No. 1). (2013). Mobile Financial Services Working Group : Alliance for Financial Inclusion. Available at: https://www.afi-global.org/sites/default/files/publications/mfswg_gl_1_basic_terminology_finalnewnew_pdf.pdf.
  9. Aker, J. C., Boumnijel, R., McClelland, A., & Tierney, N. (2016). How do electronic transfers compare? Evidence from a mobile money cashtransfer experimentin niger. Economic Development and Cultural Change65,(issue 1), 1–37.
  10. Batista, C., & Vicente, P. C. (2013). Introducing mobile money in rural mozambique: Evidence from a field experiment. SSRN Electronic Journal. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2384561.
  11. Vong, J., Fang, J., & Insu, S. (2012). Delivering financial services through mobile phone technology: A pilot study on impact of mobile money service on micro-entrepreneurs in rural Cambodia. International Journal of Information Systems and Change Management6(2), 177. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1504/ijiscm.2012.051152.
  12. Jack, W., & Suri, T. (2014). Risk sharing and transactions costs: Evidence from Kenya’s mobile money revolution. American Economic Review104(1), 183–223. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.104.1.183.
  13. Wright, R., Tekin, E., Topalli, V., McClellan, C., Dickinson, T., & Rosenfeld, R. (2017). Less cash, less crime: Evidence from the electronic benefit transfer program. The Journal of Law and Economics60(2), 361–383. https://doi.org/10.1086/693745.
  14. Beck, T., Pamuk, H., Ramrattan, R., & Uras, B. (2015). Mobile money, trade credit and economic development: Theory and evidence. SSRN Electronic Journal. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2588392.
  15. Islam, A., Muzi, S., & Rodriguez Meza, J. L. (2016). Does mobile money use increase firms’ investment? Evidence from enterprise surveys in kenya, uganda, and tanzania. World Bank, Washington, DC. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-7890.
  16. Google trends. (2021). Google Trends. Available at: https://trends.google.ru/trends/explore?date=all&q=digital%20financial%20services,mobile%20financial%20services.
  17. Digital financial services: Basic terminology(Guideline Note No. 19). (2016). Alliance for Financial Inclusion. Available at: https://www.afi-global.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/2016-08/Guideline%20Note-19%20DFS-Terminology.pdf.
  18. Digital financial services (DFS) - glossary(Technical Report T-TUT-ECOPO-2018-PDF-E). (2018). ITU-T: Focus Group on Digital Financial Services. Available at: https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/opb/tut/T-TUT-ECOPO-2018-PDF-E.pdf.
  19. Pazarbasioglu, C., Mora, A. G., Uttamchandani, M., Natarajan, H., Feyen, E., & Saal, M. (2020). Digital financial services. World Bank Group. Available at: https://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/230281588169110691/Digital-Financial-Services.pdf.