Research on the Impact of the Development of Supply Chain Finance Under the Background of Bank Digitalization on the Credit Constraints of Agricultural-related SMEs

This paper, based on the panel data of agricultural-related small and medium-sized enterprises listed on the New Third Board from 2015 to 2024, employs a fixed-effects model to empirically examine the independent impacts, interaction effects, and non-linear characteristics of digital banking and supply chain finance on credit constraints. The findings reveal that both digital banking and supply chain finance can significantly alleviate the credit constraints of agricultural-related small and medium-sized enterprises. However, the mitigating SCF’s role in easing SME funding constraints shows an inverted U-shaped feature as digital banking develops, and excessive digitalization may weaken this effect. Meanwhile, the effect of supply chain finance penetration rate in easing credit constraints for enterprises at all levels of the supply chain varies by industry. Based on this, the research suggests: for regions where the digitalization of banks has not been initiated or is in its early stages, efforts should be accelerated to promote the digitalization of banks and enhance the accessibility of supply chain financial services. It is necessary to be vigilant against the adverse effects of excessive digitalization, and to rationally optimize the application of technology to stabilize the positive mitigating role.