Socio-demographic characteristics of digital financial services users: Evidence from Serbia

Abstract

Given the importance of digital financial services on financial inclusion, the authors examined the socio-demographic characteristics of users of digital financial services in the Republic of Serbia. The authors hypothesized that age, education, employment, and income are key socio-demographic characteristics that have influenced digital financial services. The Global Findex database of the World Bank was used to analyze the socio-demographic characteristics of digital financial service users in the Republic of Serbia, with a sample of 1000 inhabitants older than 15 years. To test differences between the analyzed characteristics, a t-test was applied using SPSSv25. The results show a difference among most of the analyzed characteristics. Socio-demographic characteristics, apart from gender and income, are statistically significant. The results show a statistically significant difference in the age of users of digital financial services and non-users of digital financial services. Also, users of digital financial services are highly educated and more often employed. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the average user of digital financial services is younger, more educated, more often employed and uses various banking services, such as credit and debit cards, savings and borrowing more often than non-users of these services.