Article
The Influence of Digital Financial Literacy on Electronic Financial Behaviour: Mediating Role of Financial Self-Efficacy and Comparison between STEM and Non-STEM Students
Digital financial services have become the primary channel through which young adults manage money, yet the psychological mechanism that converts digital financial knowledge into actual digital financial behaviour remains underspecified, and it is unclear whether this mechanism operates uniformly across academic disciplines. This study examines whether financial self-efficacy (FSE) mediates the relationship between digital financial literacy (DFL) and electronic financial behaviour (EFB) among university students, and whether the structural relationships differ between STEM and Non-STEM students. Using a stratified sample N = 380; STEM n = 205, Non-STEM n = 175) and structural equation modeling (SEM) with a confirmatory measurement model for DFL, FSE, and EFB, the study tests a mediation model grounded in Social Cognitive Theory. Consistent with the hypothesized model, DFL significantly predicted FSE (β = .584, p < .001), and FSE significantly predicted EFB (β = .323, p < .001), with a significant partial mediation effect (indirect effect = .148, 95% bootstrap CI [.093, .208], accounting for 39.1% of the total effect). Structural comparison across discipline groups indicated a stronger DFL→FSE path and a fully mediated pathway (non-significant direct effect) among STEM students, contrasted with a significant residual direct effect among Non-STEM students, suggesting discipline-conditioned mediation. These findings, indicate that digital-financial confidence-building, not literacy content alone is the more proximal lever for behaviour change, with STEM students' pathway running almost entirely through self-efficacy while Non-STEM students appear to convert literacy into behaviour through additional, non-FSE-mediated routes.