Does fintech innovation improve the efficiency of Jordanian banking system

Abstract

The digital transformation in financial services industry has stimulated most banks to include technologically enabled techniques in their banking operations in an attempt to improve their efficiencies. Therefore, the term "fintech" has garnered a significant attention in both practice and academia, especially since the 2008–9 Financial Crisis. However, due to the shortcomings in available literature regarding the role of digital transformation in the efficiency of Jordanian banking sector, this research purpose is to investigate whether the adoption of financial technology influences the efficiency of Jordanian listed banks during the period 2015-2024. For this causal research, the study employed the Fixed effect and Random effect approaches to analyze a panel data set form the listed banks that implemented emerging technologies. The findings indicate that fintech investment (INR and ING) considerably improves bank efficiency, whereas bank age moderates this effect negatively due to slow technology adoption. Established banks, on the other hand, continue to be more efficient in general, owing to their expertise and reputation. It is concluded that the bank fintech negates bank efficiency as well as the investments of banks in technological innovation are confirmed to be ineffective.