Investor Trust and Risk Awareness in Digital Banking Platforms: Evidence from an Emerging Market

The rapid proliferation of fintech and digital banking platforms has fundamentally restructured retail financial services in India, raising critical questions about the behavioural antecedents of user adoption. This study investigates the determinants of investor trust and risk awareness in digital banking platforms and their joint effect on adoption intention. Using a quantitative cross-sectional design, primary data were collected from 103 active digital banking users through a structured, Likert-scaled questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha reliability analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Varimax rotation, Chi-square tests of independence, and Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses were performed using SPSS. EFA identified two dominant latent constructs Investor Trust and Risk Awareness collectively explaining 58.75% of total variance. Reliability was confirmed (α = 0.775). Chi-square analysis revealed that education level exerts no statistically significant effect on investor perceptions (all p > 0.05), whereas income level significantly predicts investor confidence (p = 0.038, r = 0.205). Findings confirm that behavioural and attitudinal factors supersede demographic characteristics in shaping digital banking adoption. The study contributes an integrated trust–risk framework grounded in TAM and behavioural finance theory, offering empirically validated insights for platform designers, financial regulators, and policymakers in emerging digital economies.