Awareness and Usage of FinTech among High Sch...

Awareness and Usage of FinTech among High School Students in the United Arab Emirates

Author Name : Dr Zinat Aboli, Ms. Khwaish Lakhiani

ABSTRACT

The 21^st century has nurtured extraordinary technological developments including the revolutionizing of the financial sector. This has prompted the emergence of financial technology, which implements technology and innovation to deliver day-to-day financial services, and in turn, have transformed the economic landscape. Generation Z, also known as Gen Tech, is expected to be the largest adopter and benefactor of these novel financial innovations, as they grew up using the internet, particularly mobile internet, on a regular basis. This research paper illustrates the extent to which financial technology is integrated into students’ lives in the United Arab Emirates. Data was collected, through a research questionnaire, from 122 students, in their former three years of studying in high school, in the United Arab Emirates. The result of this study shows that though respondents’ have fair knowledge about FinTech and some awareness about cryptocurrency, the female students fare slightly lower as compared to males. They are aware of the many pros and cons the medium offers.  FinTech and cryptocurrencies are perceived by many student users as being simple and user friendly.Though, one third of them were undecided, more than half the sample were willing to use cryptocurrency in the future.

Keywords: FinTech, Gen Tech, digital technology, bitcoin, cryptocurrency