Perceived quality in Fintech services: expanding UTAUT2 and the Delone and McLean Information System Success Models

Purpose With 1.7bn people globally excluded from essential financial services, universal financial inclusion remains a critical challenge, impeding progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 8 on inclusive growth. Despite advances, Fintech’s potential is underutilized, particularly for small businesses in Pakistan’s informal sector that struggle to access formal financial services. This study investigates how Fintech solutions can help overcome these barriers, aiming to promote financial inclusion and support sustainable economic growth in underserved sectors. Design/methodology/approach The study employs a deductive approach, collecting data through questionnaires from 389 respondents and utilizing partial least squares-structural equation modeling to empirically evaluate the proposed model. Findings The study finds that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, perceived trust, price value and interface design quality positively influence the behavioral intention to use Fintech. Effort expectancy and price value also impact the actual use of Fintech. Behavioral intentions mediate the relationship between Fintech variables and actual use. The moderating effects of information quality, service quality and system quality are significant. Behavioral intention’s influence on actual adoption is strongest at high service quality levels, significant at high or moderate system quality levels, and only significant at moderate information quality levels. Originality/value The study integrates “UTAUT2 and Delone and McLean IS Success Models” to propose a novel research framework, contributing to the debate in two ways. It introduces an unknown dimension, namely interface design quality. The research unveils the previously unexplored influence of perceived Fintech quality (information quality, service quality and system quality) as a variable that moderates the relationship between behavioral intention and actual adoption of Fintech services.