Influence of Digital Payment Systems on Financial Literacy and Financial Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa

Purpose: The primary aim is to empirically assess whether digital payment systems significantly enhance financial literacy and financial inclusion. The study also explores how macroeconomic and technological factors, such as inflation, education, and internet penetration, moderate these relationships across 35 Sub-Saharan African countries Methodology: The study employed a quantitative research approach. It used a panel data of 35 out of 49 Sub-Saharan countries based consistency of annual data, spanning from 2000 to 2023. The study employs a two-step System Generalized Method of Moments estimation technique. This method addresses potential endogeneity, autocorrelation, and omitted variable bias while accounting for country-level heterogeneity. Findings: Results revealed that digital payment systems have no statistically significant effect on financial literacy and, surprisingly, a small negative effect on financial inclusion. Education and internet penetration showed marginal positive influences, though weak. These findings suggested that digital tools alone are insufficient without complementary interventions such as education, trust-building, and infrastructure development. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Policymakers and fintech providers should adopt a more holistic, user-centric approach to digital finance—emphasizing not just access but usability, literacy, and long-term engagement. For accounting and development research, the findings highlight the importance of integrating socio-technological dimensions in measuring financial development outcomes.