Impact of financial reforms on digital banking adoption among rural dwellers in South-West Nigeria

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Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Despite several reforms aimed at financial digitalization, such as the Cashless Policy (CP), Bank verification number (BVN), Linkage of National identification number (NIN) to bank accounts, and the Naira Redesign, a large proportion of Nigeria’s rural population remains digitally excluded. This study addresses a pressing gap of whether financial reforms are facilitating sustainable digital banking adoption or compounding existing barriers among rural users in South-west, Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey research design was employed, drawing data from 376 rural dwellers across six South-western states of Nigeria. A structured questionnaire measured rural dwellers’ engagement with digital financial services and the influence of key reforms. Using a cross-sectional survey, responses were analyzed through PLS-SEM, where findings revealed that the Cashless Policy (β = 0.192, p = 0.008) and National Identification Number linkage reform (β = 0.332, p = 0.000) significantly enhanced digital banking adoption, while the Bank Verification Number reform (β = 0.069, p = 0.396) and Naira Redesign (β = 0.038, p = 0.539) showed no significant effects. The study concludes that while some reforms have improved financial inclusion, Bank Verification Number and currency redesign policies require a systematic approach to better address rural realities and therefore recommends infrastructure development and user-focused reforms to strengthen rural digital financial participation.

Acknowledgment
The authors would like to acknowledge all respondents who took part in the survey.

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    • Figure 1. SEM path for financial reforms, inclusion, and digital banking
    • Table 1. Sample distribution across the South-West states
    • Table 2. Statistics for reliability and construct validity
    • Table 3. Fornell-Larcker criterion
    • Table 4. HTMT ratios
    • Table 5. Cross-loadings
    • Table 6. R-squared statistics
    • Table 7. Goodness of fit statistics
    • Table 8. SEM results for financial reforms and digital banking services
    • Table A1. Socio-demographic characteristics
    • Table A2. Statistics for reliability and construct validity
    • Conceptualization
      Michael Olukayode Aladejebi, Thomas Duro Ayodele, Oyinlola Morounfoluwa Akinyede, Taofeek Sola Afolabi
    • Data curation
      Michael Olukayode Aladejebi, Thomas Duro Ayodele, Oyinlola Morounfoluwa Akinyede, Taofeek Sola Afolabi
    • Formal Analysis
      Michael Olukayode Aladejebi, Thomas Duro Ayodele, Oyinlola Morounfoluwa Akinyede, Taofeek Sola Afolabi
    • Funding acquisition
      Michael Olukayode Aladejebi, Thomas Duro Ayodele, Oyinlola Morounfoluwa Akinyede, Taofeek Sola Afolabi
    • Investigation
      Michael Olukayode Aladejebi, Thomas Duro Ayodele, Oyinlola Morounfoluwa Akinyede, Taofeek Sola Afolabi
    • Methodology
      Michael Olukayode Aladejebi, Thomas Duro Ayodele, Oyinlola Morounfoluwa Akinyede, Taofeek Sola Afolabi
    • Project administration
      Michael Olukayode Aladejebi, Thomas Duro Ayodele, Oyinlola Morounfoluwa Akinyede, Taofeek Sola Afolabi
    • Resources
      Michael Olukayode Aladejebi, Thomas Duro Ayodele, Oyinlola Morounfoluwa Akinyede, Taofeek Sola Afolabi
    • Software
      Michael Olukayode Aladejebi, Thomas Duro Ayodele, Oyinlola Morounfoluwa Akinyede, Taofeek Sola Afolabi
    • Supervision
      Michael Olukayode Aladejebi, Thomas Duro Ayodele, Oyinlola Morounfoluwa Akinyede, Taofeek Sola Afolabi
    • Validation
      Michael Olukayode Aladejebi, Thomas Duro Ayodele, Oyinlola Morounfoluwa Akinyede, Taofeek Sola Afolabi
    • Visualization
      Michael Olukayode Aladejebi, Thomas Duro Ayodele, Oyinlola Morounfoluwa Akinyede, Taofeek Sola Afolabi
    • Writing – original draft
      Michael Olukayode Aladejebi, Thomas Duro Ayodele, Oyinlola Morounfoluwa Akinyede, Taofeek Sola Afolabi
    • Writing – review & editing
      Michael Olukayode Aladejebi, Thomas Duro Ayodele, Oyinlola Morounfoluwa Akinyede, Taofeek Sola Afolabi