Factors Affecting Fintech Business Sustainability Among Generation Z in Perak

Abstract

Fintech business sustainability is increasingly important in the evolving digital financial ecosystem, driven by intensifying competition and rising user expectations. One of the key challenges affecting fintech business sustainability is the variation in financial literacy among Generation Z (Gen Z) users. This study analyzes the factors impacting fintech business sustainability among Generation Z in Perak, Malaysia, focusing on the roles of digital financial services, financial literacy, technology infrastructure, and financial attitude. A cross-sectional survey design was utilized in a quantitative research approach, collecting primary data via a structured self-administered online questionnaire from Generation Z individuals aged 18–27 who actively use fintech services. A total of 384 valid responses were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings indicate that all four independent variables are positively related to fintech business sustainability. Digital financial services significantly enhance fintech business sustainability ( 𝛽 = 0.248, p = 0.002), supporting hypothesis 1; technology infrastructure positively influences fintech business sustainability ( 𝛽 = 0.192, p = 0.009), supporting hypothesis 2; financial attitude has a positive impact on fintech business sustainability, supporting hypothesis 3 ( 𝛽 = 0.271, p = 0.001); and perceived trust and security is identified as the most influential predictor of fintech business sustainability, with a beta coefficient of 0.334 and a p-value of 0.000, thereby supporting hypothesis 4. The study highlights that fintech service providers should focus on enhancing service quality, improving technological infrastructure, and promoting positive financial behaviors to retain Generation Z users, thereby ensuring long-term sustainability in Malaysia's fintech industry.  

Received: 8 February 2026 | Revised: 30 April 2026 | Accepted: 27 May 2026

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to this work.

Data Availability Statement

Data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Author Contribution Statement

Suresh Verappan: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Project administration. Hemaloshinee Vasudevan: Writing – review & editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project administration.