Integrating Individual Capabilities, Infrastructure Quality, and Social Capital: A Novel Framework for FinTech Trust in Rural Vietnam

Purpose: This study investigates the pathways from Digital Financial Literacy (DFL) to FinTech Trust (FTT) in rural economies, extending the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) through a novel framework positioning Digital Infrastructure Accessibility (DIA) as mediator and Community Trust (CT) as moderator. Design/methodology/approach: Structural equation modeling analyzed data from 587 respondents across rural Vietnam, employing PLS-SEM to assess the hypothesized relationships, mediation mechanisms, and moderation effects. Findings: The empirical analysis confirms that DFL significantly influences FTT directly and indirectly through DIA. Furthermore, CT substantially moderates the DIA-FTT relationship, with stronger effects observed in communities with higher interpersonal trust levels. Research limitations/implications: The research addresses theoretical gaps regarding context-specific determinants of FinTech trust, extending existing technology acceptance models by integrating socio-cultural dimensions critical to emerging economies. The findings support a capability-opportunity interaction model where individual literacy and infrastructure accessibility synergistically foster trust. Originality/value: This study uniquely integrates infrastructure accessibility as a mediating mechanism and community- level social capital as a contextual moderator, offering a more nuanced understanding of FinTech adoption barriers in rural settings and informing targeted interventions to enhance financial inclusion through digital means in developing contexts.