Unlocking sustainable savings through digital financial services: A cooperative lens from Kenya

• Digital financial services enhance sustainable saving behaviors, particularly in deposits. • Speed and security are key DFS benefits influencing financial inclusion. • Transparency shows limited impact on member saving decisions. • Financial cooperative digital adoption supports financial resilience in low-income communities. • Strategic DFS implementation can foster long-term economic sustainability. The rise of digital financial services (DFS) offers significant potential to enhance sustainable saving behaviors, particularly within financial cooperatives, which are instrumental in advancing financial inclusion. This study explores the impact of DFS on sustainable saving decisions among cooperative members in Kenya. Employing a cross-sectional survey of 334 members and analyzing the data using ordered probit regression, the study examines how DFS influences sustainable saving behavior, specifically in terms of deposits and share investments. The findings reveal that financial cooperative members make saving decisions based on DFS benefits such as speed and transparency, particularly for deposits. However, when it comes to share-related savings, access to DFS appeared less influential. DFS transparency had a limited impact on sustainable saving behavior overall. The study also identifies reinvestment of returns as a key driver of sustainable saving decisions. These results highlight the dual importance of technological advancements and savings potential in enhancing the digitalization of financial cooperative operations and promoting sustainable financial behaviors among members. This research makes a substantial contribution to sustainable futures studies by demonstrating how DFS can facilitate financial sustainability within underserved populations. It underscores the need for cooperative societies and policymakers to leverage DFS strategically to foster long-term sustainable saving behaviors, thereby driving financial inclusion and sustainability.