The role of digital literacy and digital innovations on financial literacy and financial behaviour : building financial resilience in South Africa’s middle class

Abstract

Advancements in digital technologies in the financial services sector are set to play a critical role in the lived realities of individuals. The presence of digital financial services has perpetuated the distributed consumption of financial services and democratising financial products. Developing economies have an opportunity to leverage the digital advancements dividends, leap-frogging years of local financial system development through digital technologies. The outcomes of leveraging digital innovations would be a robust economic middle class that is financially resilient which will enable further benefits to the macro and micro levels of developing economies. But for this to be a reality in developing economies, digital literacy skills play a critical role. This qualitative study had multifaceted objectives, but the study mainly set out to understand the role of digital literacy and digital innovations on the ability of individuals to build financial resilience in developing economies like South Africa. The findings of study highlighted entrenched structural challenges of developing economies as well as hygiene factors that were barriers to individuals leveraging digital innovations. The insights derived from the study provided invaluable calls to action and strategies for both policy makers and organisations to address key impediments faced by individuals. Overall, the study presented a conceptual model of studying building individual financial resilience through a digital lens. The conclusion and recommendation of the study seek to add to the limited literature of the novel construct of financial resilience, applying a developing economy perspective to literature.