Mid Sweden University

Purpose This study aims to investigate the personal financial planning factors influencing the adoption of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Design/methodology/approach The study collects primary data from two countries outside the Eurozone – Sweden and the UK – where central banks are actively working on CBDC projects. Our study applies self-control theory, highlighting financial planning as a crucial factor in individual financial decisions. Findings We find a strong and positive relationship between individuals’ propensity to plan for their finances (financial planning) and their intent to adopt CBDC, irrespective of the country. Moreover, we identify socioeconomic factors that can encourage (e.g. education) or hinder (e.g. age) the adoption of CBDC. Personality traits play a significant role in determining this adoption decision. Social implications This study highlights two key policy recommendations that are related to United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 5. The first focuses on information dissemination and gender equality, while the second addresses the design of CBDC. Originality/value The study went beyond the existing literature on CBDC adoption, which primarily focuses on the direct impact of trust and security and integrates socioeconomic factors with psychological elements to more comprehensively assess the traits that influence motivation or demotivation toward adopting CBDCs. 

Informal borrowing from family and friends suffers from the lack of formal agreement and can lead to severe consequences. Self-control theory suggest some strategies to improve the saving tendencies which can reduce this type of borrowing. To examining which factors that can enhance these strategies in the European Union, this study uses balanced panel data analysis from the Global Findex and Eurostat databases for the years 2014, 2017, and 2021 and conclude a pivotal role of using debit cards and also for saving behavior in addressing this type of borrowing. The study also arises inquiries about the effectiveness of public financial education and empathizes the importance to improve related policies in the FinTech landscape. By elucidating these findings, this paper contributes to deeper knowledge of the dynamics between using debt cards and borrowing practices in the European Union.

Financial advisors are professionals with a high level of financial knowledge and skills, but do they use their own working experience to achieve financial health? In fact, little is known whether financial advisors utilize their financial capability and adopt financial behavior, and how they ensure their own financial well-being and mitigate financial stress. Based on the capability approach and previous studies, an online questionnaire was developed and sent to a sample of financial advisors in the USA. We received 232 valid responses, and the results suggest that financial advisors' capability can address financial well-being and financial stress. However, their own financial behavior, per se, does not. To solve this dilemma, the study emphasizes the effect of regularly practicing lifelong learning and physical activity. Our study also offers insights that help institutions that organize the career requirements of financial advisors.

Financial advisors play a crucial role in modern society, providing advice that can significantly enhance individuals’ and households’ financial solutions and contribute to improved financial well-being. However, little is known about financial advisors’ ability to utilize their financial capability and to ensure their own financial well-being and to mitigate financial stress. The paper aims to study the role of financial capability and financial behavior in addressing advisors’ financial well-being, considering the moderating role of lifestyles variables, i.e. lifelong learning, training, and friendship. Based on previous studies, an online survey was developed and sent to a sample of financial advisors in USA. The results are analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling

Enhancing household financial capability is important for mitigating severe economic challenges. In the European Union (EU), financial technology (FinTech) solutions are considered critical for managing household finance, but their role in enhancing financial capability is ambiguous. Herein, we measure financial capability in the EU and investigate the effect of FinTech using three waves of panel data from Global Findex (2014, 2017, and 2021) and Eurostat Databases. According to the analyses, EU countries vary greatly in terms of FinTech and financial capability, with countries in the Union's north scoring remarkably high. Results emphasize a considerable effect of FinTech on financial capability and highlight an increase in the latter when the Human Development Index increases. Practical guidelines for measuring financial capability are also presented to assist countries that require additional efforts to effectively address financial capability challenges. 

Ensuring a sound level of financial well-being and mitigating financial stress are essential aspects of life in Nordic countries. Proper knowledge of financial matters and sound financial planning are important to secure these aspects. Considering earlier research, the current study develops a questionnaire and collects over 1000 valid responses from various regions in Sweden. The study utilizes Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the relationships between financial capability, on the one hand, and financial well-being and stress on the other hand. Moreover, the study considers the mediation role of financial planning and financial vulnerability. In a further step, the study uses the dichotomization technique to test the moderating role of financial technology and social media usage, several saving habits, and having a low-quality borrowing profile (loan rejection and serving a loan with a high-interest rate). The study concludes with insights that help households improve financial well-being and control the negative consequences of financial stress.

Denna kortrapport baseras på en studie som dels mäter hushållens finansiella förmåga i 24 EU-länder, dels undersöker sambandet mellan användningen av finansiell teknologi (FinTech) och finansiell förmåga. Den data som användes är hämtad från Världsbanken för åren 2014, 2017 och 2021 samt Europeiska kommissionen. Enligt de resultat som Mustafa Nourallah och Peter Öhman vid CER redovisar här nedan har EU-länderna en stor variation när det gäller såväl medborgarnas finansiella förmåga som användningen av FinTech-tjänster. Länderna i de norra delarna av unionen får jämförelsevis höga poäng. Vidare har FinTech en positiv inverkan på finansiell förmåga. Resultaten förblir stabila även efter kompletterande tester. Studien visar även att ett lands index för mänsklig utveckling har en positiv effekt på hushållens finansiella förmåga. Dock finns inget signifikant samband mellan vare sig inkomst och finansiell förmåga eller ekonomisk frihet och finansiell förmåga. När de undersökta länderna delades in i två grupper utifrån hur väl de implementerat Europa 2020-strategin, bekräftas betydelsen av FinTech för hushållens finansiella förmåga, men det framgår också att det i synnerhet gäller för den grupp av länder som bäst följer denna strategi, däribland Sverige. Forskningsresultaten har tidigare publicerats i den internationella tidskriftsartikeln “Financial technology and financial capability: Study of the European Union” (Nourallah, Öhman och Hamati, 2024).

This thesis on financial technology (FinTech) solutions consists of twosuccessive phases, each including two articles. The first phase targets the loyalty of young bank customers (YBCs) to mobile bank applications (MBAs). One of the articles of this phase investigates the relationships between cognitive, affective, and conative antecedents, on one hand, and loyalty on the other. The other article identifies the relationships between usability, responsiveness, reliability, and customer satisfaction, on one hand, and loyalty on the other. Two electronic questionnaires were sent to 500 YBCs in Sweden, 146 responded, and covariance-based structural equation modelling was employed to analyse the data. The resulting model of YBCs’ loyalty to MBAs concludes that three attributes, i.e., memorability, confidentiality, and understandability, along with ease of use, ease of information search, and ease of navigation, determine the satisfaction of the younger generation and their loyalty to MBAs. The second phase focuses on the antecedents of building trust in financial robo-advisors (FRAs) based on the perceptions of young retail investors (YRIs). One of the two articles of this phase investigates building trust in technology through utilizing risk perspectives and the behavioural finance paradigm. The other article targets initial trust from the perspectives of the management discipline and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. It tests whether the cultural variable ssuggested by previous studies moderate the relationship between the seantecedents and initial trust. Two electronic questionnaires were sent to YRIs in Sweden and Malaysia, and partial least squares structural equation modelling was employed to analyse the data. The resulting model of YRIs’ initial trust in FRAs emphasizes the essential role of personal attributes (trust propensity and decision style), information, and technological features in addressing initial trust, which in turn determines the behavioural intention to use FRAs. Most findings are similar in the two countries, with some indications of cultural differences in what influences young investors’ initial trust in robo-advisors. For example, price is perceived as more important in Sweden, while social networks seem to be more important in Malaysia. Despite some limitations, the thesis has novel implications for theory and practice. Synthesizing the results suggests that ease of use and cognitive features are highly important to FinTech solutions.