Abstract
PurposeIn this paper, we explore the role of education in household financial technology (FinTech) adoption.Design/methodology/approachUsing representative nationwide household data from the 2017 China Household Finance Survey, we employ the change in China’s compulsory schooling law in the 1980s as an instrumental variable for educational attainment.FindingsWe find that among Chinese households, education has statistically significant and economically important effects on the use of various FinTech services, including digital banking, mobile payment, digital wealth management and digital consumer credit. Further analysis indicates that exogeneous increases in education lead to higher levels of financial literacy and social trust, both of which are potential drivers of FinTech adoption. Our findings provide new insights into the importance of education for household financial decision-making and technology adoption.Originality/valueThe contribution of our study is mainly twofold. First, we provide evidence on the role of education in household financial decision making. Second, this study adds to the literature on household adoption of technological innovation in finance. Our findings are also policy-relevant.