FinTrust 2.0

Abstract

Embedded finance blended with decentralized finance (DeFi) and generative AI (GenAI) is reinventing financial services, but the impact of this phenomenon on consumer trust and emotional resiliency is poorly studied. This research has generated and tested the FINTRUST 2.0 framework based on a cross-sectional survey of 384 adults (18-45 years) in major Indian cities where Fintech is already used. The analysis of data was done through EFA, CFA and SEM. It has been found that consumer trust is multidimensional based on security, transparency, autonomy, reliability, ethics, and empowerment and serves as an effective intervening variable between the adoption of Fintech and emotional resilience. The impact was probably the strongest in the case of GenAI, then embedded finance, then DeFi. The results elevate the state of Fintech psychology and provide coverage of a policy and design implications of trust-based, emotionally sustainable digital finance systems.