Digital Banking Beyond Access: Institutional and Adoption Dynamics of FinTech in South and Southeast Asia
FinTech Institutions and Digital Banking Adoption
Keywords:
Fintech innovation, digital banking, agricultural productivity, financial inclusion, digital transformation, South Asia, PakistanAbstract
Digital banking and financial technology (FinTech) have become central to financial system modernization in emerging economies, yet their developmental impact depends on institutional design, sectoral integration, and user adoption. While several South Asian countries have embedded digital finance within coherent, sector-specific policy frameworks, Pakistan’s experience remains uneven, with digital banking expansion showing limited linkage to productive economic activities. This study examines Pakistan’s digital banking landscape from a comparative institutional perspective, using agriculture as a focal sector to assess how institutional coordination and adoption behavior shape FinTech outcomes.
The study employs an exploratory mixed-methods approach, combining cross-country secondary indicators (2018–2024) from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Malaysia with primary survey evidence from digital banking users in Pakistan. Rather than testing causal relationships, the analysis evaluates patterns of association between digital banking penetration, institutional coherence, and sectoral engagement, interpreted through Financial Intermediation Theory, the Technology Acceptance Model, and Innovation Diffusion Theory.
Findings show that despite initiatives such as Raast and the Kissan Card, digital banking usage in Pakistan remains largely transactional and urban-centered, with limited integration into agricultural finance. Comparative evidence indicates that countries with stronger institutional alignment and sector-specific digital finance strategies achieve deeper productive engagement. Survey results further highlight behavioral constraints, including trust deficits, limited awareness, and gender-based access disparities in rural areas.
The study concludes that FinTech-enabled digital banking is not inherently transformative; its effectiveness depends on institutional embedding, interoperability, and sustained user engagement to support inclusive and productivity-oriented development.
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All articles published in AgriPaT are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
