From knowledge to action: how financial, digital, and crypto literacies and cognitive schemas shape digital financial behavior in an emerging economy

Purpose Digitalization has profoundly transformed the financial sector, creating a new generation of digital financial products and services. Although research on financial behavior in digital contexts is extensive, most studies focus on single technologies, leaving the broader determinants of digital financial behavior (DFB) unexplored. DFB refers to the use of digital channels to access and manage financial services. This study aims to address the gap by examining how financial knowledge (FK), digital literacy (DL), crypto-literacy (CL) and the Perfect Automation Schema (PAS) shape DFB in an emerging economy. Drawing on Knowledge Management (KM) theory, these literacies are interpreted as forms of Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) that enable user engagement with digital finance. Design/methodology/approach The study relies on data collected from a representative sample of 304 Albanian users through a structured questionnaire. Multivariate regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses on the determinants of users’ DFB. Findings Results show that higher levels of awareness are associated with more active DFB, highlighting the relevance of both foundational knowledge and crypto-related expertise. PAS also significantly influences users’ engagement, revealing that cognitive schemas toward automation can either foster or inhibit the adoption of digital financial systems. Originality/value This study extends the KM literature to the financial and digitalization domains through a user-centric perspective, proposing a multidimensional measure of DFB that captures users’ attitudes toward adopting digital channels. It further enriches research on emerging economies by providing unique empirical evidence and valuable insights into the underexplored context of Albania.