Impact of mobile banking and E-wallets on household budgeting practices in Bangladesh: Changes in record keeping, spending, and savings

The rapid growth of mobile banking and e-wallets in Bangladesh is transforming the financial services sector, yet their specific impact on household budgeting practices remains underexplored. This study investigates whether mobile banking usage and e-wallet usage are associated with household budgeting outcomes through three theoretically important intervening mechanisms: trust, digital literacy and awareness of budgeting and saving features. A conceptual framework was developed and tested using cross-sectional data from 363 mobile banking and e-wallet users in Bangladesh. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. The findings show that both mobile banking usage and e-wallet usage positively predict users' trust, digital literacy and feature awareness. These three factors, in turn, positively predict better record-keeping, more controlled spending behavior and stronger savings practices. Specifically, trust, digital literacy, and awareness were all found to lead to better record-keeping, more controlled spending, and stronger savings practices. Awareness shows the largest standardized effects on the three household budgeting outcomes, indicating that users benefit more when they recognize and use transaction histories, alerts, spending categories, statements and savings tools. These insights provide valuable guidance for financial institutions, fintech companies, and policymakers seeking to promote financial inclusion and stability in Bangladesh and other emerging economies.