Document Type

Article

Date of Original Version

2026

Department

Human Development and Family Science

Abstract

Purpose: Purposive credit card behavior refers to using credit cards to purchase different types of goods, as measured by a discrete variable. This study explores the relationship between digital financial literacy and purposive credit card behavior in the context of digitization and diversified consumer demands.

Design/methodology/approach: Employing data from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), this study uses a multinomial probit model to examine the above relationship. It measures digital financial literacy using the coupling coordination degree model. The Karlson-Holm-Breen (KHB) method serves to verify mediating effects.

Findings: Consumers with high levels of digital financial literacy are more likely to use credit cards to cope with small daily expenditures rather than purchasing large, durable goods such as houses and automobiles. This process occurs via the use of digital tools, and affected by digital risk avoidance, and digital credit availability.

Originality/value: First, this study investigates the drivers of purposive credit card behavior, which is in an emerging perspective compared to existing literature that focuses on drivers of rational credit card behavior. Second, it measures digital financial literacy through the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM). This method has unique advantages over the entropy weight method (EWM) used in prior research, as it captures the interaction between digital and financial literacy.

Publication Title, e.g., Journal

International Journal of Bank Marketing

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