Advancing Financial Capability Among Teachers in Outlying Urban Areas Through Digital Finance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51137/wrp.ijarbm.349Keywords:
Digital Finance, Financial Capability, Financial Competence, Peri-urban Teachers, Positivism Research ParadigmAbstract
There is a lack of research investigating the potential of digital finance tools and solutions to improve the financial capabilities of peri-urban teachers in South Africa. Thus, the objective of this study was to examine the influence of digital finance on improving the financial capabilities of peri-urban teachers. Understanding the adoption patterns, challenges, and impact of fintech in this specific context could contribute valuable insights to both academic literature and educational policy. This study employed a positivism research paradigm using a questionnaire survey as the research instrument. There were 246 high school teachers who participated in this study who were selected using systematic random sampling. The research findings indicated that a majority of peri-urban teachers possessed proficient knowledge of financial technology. They employed this knowledge to engage in online shopping, make electronic bill payments, and execute cash transactions over the internet. Furthermore, their adeptness in digital finance enabled them to make use of online financial services, leading them to rank internet banking as the most convenient banking method, surpassing branch banking and ATM services. However, these teachers expressed concerns about the security risks associated with internet banking, citing the potential for online hacking or scams that could result in financial losses.
References
Atkinson, A., & Messy, F.-A. (2012). Measuring Financial Literacy. OECD Working Papers on Finance, Insurance and Private Pensions. Retrieved 1 December 2021, from https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/content/paper/5k9csfs90fr4-en
Bi, Q. (2015). Financial technology and personal financial planning [PhD thesis, Texas Tech University].
Bi, Q. (2015). Three essays on financial technology and personal financial planning Texas Tech University]. Texas, USA.
Chong, A. Y. L., Lim, E. T., Hua, X., Zheng, S., & Tan, C.-W. (2019). Business on chain: A comparative case study of five blockchain-inspired business models. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 20(9), 1308-1337. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00568
Farida, M. N., Soesatyo, Y., & Aji, T. S. (2021). Influence of financial literacy and use of financial technology on financial satisfaction through financial behavior. International journal of education and literacy studies, 9(1), 86-95. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.9n.1p.86
Githuri, J. (2019). How to become a teacher in South Africa. Retrieved 26 January from https://briefly.co.za/29324-how-a-teacher-south-africa-south-african-news.html
Goldstein, I., Jiang, W., & Karolyi, G. A. (2019). To FinTech and beyond. The Review of Financial Studies, 32(5), 1647-1661. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhz025
Helali, K. (2025). Digital financial inclusion, environmental sustainability and regional economic growth in China: Insights from a panel threshold model. Journal of Economic Structures, 14, Article 4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40008-025-00347-4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40008-025-00347-4
Hua, X., Huang, Y., & Zheng, Y. (2019). Current practices, new insights, and emerging trends of financial technologies. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 119(7), 1401-1410. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-08-2019-0431
Jagtiani, J., & Lemieux, C. (2018). Do fintech lenders penetrate areas that are underserved by traditional banks? Journal of Economics and Business, 100, 43-54. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconbus.2018.03.001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconbus.2018.03.001
Jali, N. P. (2024). The relationship between financial literacy, financial technology, and financial behaviour among high school teachers in an emerging economy. International Journal of Economics and Finance Studies, 16(2), 130-151.
Jali, N., & Bhana, A. (2025). Financial Literacy and Educator Behaviour: Insights from a Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. International Journal of Applied Research in Business and Management, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.51137/wrp.ijarbm.2025.njft.45815 DOI: https://doi.org/10.51137/wrp.ijarbm.2025.njft.45815
Mafukata, A. M., & Mudau, A. V. (2016). Exploring teacher mass resignation and early retirement from public schools. Dirasat: Human and Social Sciences, 43(5), 2243-2255.
McNamara, K., & Marpu, R. P. (2025). Banking 2.0: The Stablecoin Banking Revolution - How Digital Assets Are Reshaping Global Finance. arXiv preprint arXiv:2508.11395.
Merry, E. A. (2018). Mobile banking: A closer look at survey measures. Retrieved 1 December 2021, from https://ssrn.com/abstract=3187710 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17016/2380-7172.2163
Pew Research Center. (2021). Mobile Fact Sheet. Retrieved 1 December from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/
Ripain, N., Amirul, S. M., & Mail, R. (2017). Financial literacy and SMEs’ potential entrepreneurs: The case of Malaysia. Journal of Administrative and Business Studies, 3(2), 60-68. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20474/jabs-3.2.1
SABRIC. (2022). Digital banking crime statistics. Retrieved 26 January from https://www.sabric.co.za/media-and-news/press-releases/digital-banking-crime-statistics/
Skagerlund, K., Lind, T., Strömbäck, C., Tinghög, G., & Västfjäll, D. (2018). Financial literacy and the role of numeracy–How individuals’ attitude and affinity with numbers influence financial literacy. Journal of behavioral and experimental economics, 74, 18-25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2018.03.004
Smith, C. (2021). Over half a billion rand lost in debit card scams in SA last year. Retrieved 26 January from https://www.news24.com/fin24/companies/financial-services/over-half-a-billion-rand-lost-in-debit-card-scams-in-sa-last-year-20210929
Statista. (2020a). Number of smartphone users in South Africa from 2014 to 2023 (in millons). Retrieved 17 September from https://www.statista.com/statistics/488376/forecast-of-smartphone-users-in-south-africa/
Statista. (2020b). Number of smartphone users in South Africa from 2014 to 2023 (in millons)*. Retrieved 30 November from https://www.statista.com/statistics/488376/forecast-of-smartphone-users-in-south-africa/
Statista. (2021). Digital population in South Africa as of January 2021. Retrieved 30 November from https://www.statista.com/statistics/685134/south-africa-digital-population/
STATSSA. (2022). Msunduzi. Retrieved 26 January from http://www.statssa.gov.za/?page_id=993&id=the-msunduzi-municipality
Taber, K. S. (2018). The Use of Cronbach’s Alpha When Developing and Reporting Research Instruments in Science Education. Research in Science Education, 48(6), 1273-1296. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-9602-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-9602-2
Yew, S.-Y., Yong, C.-C., Cheong, K.-C., & Tey, N.-P. (2017). Does financial education matter? education literacy among undergraduates in Malaysia. Institutions and Economies, 43-60.
Younas, W., Javed, T., Kalimuthu, K. R., Farooq, M., Khalil-ur-Rehman, F., & Raju, V. (2019). Impact of self-control, financial literacy and financial behavior on financial well-being. The Journal of Social Sciences Research, 5(1), 211-218. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32861/jssr.51.211.218
Yu, S., Johnson, S., Lai, C., Cricelli, A., & Fleming, L. (2017). Crowdfunding and regional entrepreneurial investment: an application of the CrowdBerkeley database. Research Policy, 46(10), 1723-1737. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2017.07.008
Zaimah, R., Sarmila, M., Lyndon, N., Azima, A., Selvadurai, S., Saad, S., & Er, A. (2013). Financial behaviors of female teachers in Malaysia. Asian Social Science, 9(8), 34-41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n8p34
Zubairu, I., Amanquah, B. A., Kwarteng, F., & Bortey, N. (2025). Examining the role of financial technology (FinTech) in financial inclusion in Ghana: An evaluation of the strategies, impacts, and challenges in practice. International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences, 13(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20251301.11 DOI: https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20251301.11
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Nkosinathi Prince Jali, Adele Alice Robinson (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.