The role of Fintech e-payment on APEC economic development

Abstract

© 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. The goal of this study is to investigate whether Fintech e-payment affects economic development in APEC countries, in particular, income growth, productivity, price volatility, and income inequality. We use e-payment index introduced by RMIT University and TRPC and apply quantile regression with GME approach. We consider the quantile level at 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75. At the low level of economic development variables, the Fintech have the highest effects on these variables compared with the medium and high level of economic development. In other words, Fintech supports not only low level of growth and productivity but also reduce the low level of price volatility and income inequity. Further investigation provides that e-payment usage and technology empowerment are helpful to economic development, particularly, increasing in growth and productivity.