The Impact of Digital Financial Inclusion on Youth Saving and Spending Attitude: A Behavioral Perspective of Urban Youth in Bangladesh

The digital financial service (DFS) has provided the opportunities to financial inclusion, particularly among young people in developing economies due to the high growth rate. The paper has discussed implications of digital financial inclusion to the behavior of the youth concerning saving and expenditure. It was intended to gauge the significance of digital financial platform i.e. mobile banking, E-wallet and peer-to-peer lending in the financial decision-making process of the youths aged between 18 and 30 years especially in saving and spending behavior. Quantitative research design was used in the study since the study involved a closed questionnaire survey to collect information about 80 urban youths in Bangladesh. This survey explored how the respondents used digital financial application, saved and spent money and how the behavioral variables, including financial literacy, peer influence, and digital tool attributes, would affect a financial decision. The findings represented the positive and negative outcome on saving patterns. The majority (64.2 percent) of the respondents asserted that digital financial services had a positive impact on their saving behavior since the automated savings and real-time tracking helped to make the saving process more routine. Social influence such as peer interaction and being exposed to social media also moderated consumption behaviors. In addition, findings could conclude that despite a high percentage of respondents (49.4%) who considered online platforms to be more secure and convenient for financial management purposes, the internet was perceived as an insecure tool just as the risks associated with online investing. The paper also highlights the manner in which digital financial inclusion can facilitate positive financial behaviors and conversely provides a wake-up call against wanton spending pointing out the rationale for necessary financial literacy. Its findings suggest that interventions on financial literacy should be incorporated into digital platforms to enable young people accept morally responsible finances and in ensuring they transform the digital financial inclusion opportunities to their benefit.