FinTech adoption: driving financial inclusion at the bottom of pyramid

Abstract The rise of financial technology (FinTech) and mobile money services in developing economies like India presents a viable route to further improve financial inclusion, especially at Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP). This paper offers an empirical analysis of factors affecting FinTech adoption by BoP consumers. The novelty of this study resides in its augmentation of the UTAUT2 model by integrating Perceived Risk as a mediator variable in the relation between behavior intention and usage of FinTech tools for BoP. Stratified judgement sampling was applied to capture responses from 650 respondents from rural areas in India and structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to examine relations among the constructs. The findings reveal that Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence, Facilitating Conditions, and Price Value have a significant impact on FinTech adoption, whereas Hedonic Motivation and Habit were not significant. Notably, Perceived Risk had a negative moderating influence on the relationship between adoption intention and usage behavior. The research contributes to technology acceptance literature by combining risk perception as a moderating variable, providing insights for policymakers, financial institutions, and developers to develop inclusive user-centered financial solutions at BoP. The research contributes to society by enhancing financial inclusion of BoP communities through FinTech adoption in order to overcome obstacles to economic empowerment.