Is Digital Literacy a Moderator Variable in the Relationship Between Financial Literacy, Financial Inclusion, and Financial Well-Being in the Ecuadorian Context?

Abstract

This study explores the determinants of financial literacy (FL) and the relationship between FL, financial inclusion (FI), and financial well-being (FW-B) in the Ecuadorian banking industry. It also tests the moderating role of digital literacy (DL) on the relationship between FL-FI, FL-FW-B, and FI-FW-B. This study employs a self-designed online questionnaire with a structural equation model to prove the relationship between variables. Among 321 collected data, the final valid dataset consisted of 294 registers. The main findings revealed that (i) financial behavior (FB), financial attitudes (FA), and financial skills (FS) have a significant and positive influence over FL, (ii) FL positively affects FI and FW-B, (iii) FI has a positive and significant relationship with FW-B, and (iv) DL does not moderate the relationship between variables, given DL depends on socio-economic factors (especially educational aspects) and the degree of technology and innovation adopted by digital banking customers. Study results are aligned with previous studies in the United States, India, Greece, and Finland. This study contributes to the research by offering a complete view of the importance of transcendence of the presence of FL in educational programs to improve the FI, financial development, and FW-B of banking customers. The study limitation is the absence of the FL index in the Ecuadorian environment. For future research, the study recommends performing a longitudinal study of FL and FI and including different statuses and categories to test the econometric model.