Financial and media literacy in the digital age: combating financial misinformation in Arab FinTech ecosystems

Scams fraudulent investment claims and digital fraud are among the financial misinformation threats that Arab societies are facing as they embrace the quick digitization of financial services. This study explores how media and financial literacy work together to empower people to recognize and fend off financial disinformation in Arab FinTech ecosystems. In this paper a dual-literacy framework is developed and empirically tested using a quantitative cross-sectional survey design drawing on framing theory financial capability models media literacy theory and social cognitive theory. 750 respondents from five Arab nations—Egypt Saudi Arabia Jordan the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain—provided the data. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) confirmed important relationships showing that dual literacy greatly improves misinformation detection ( β  = .61 p  < .001). The results emphasize the importance of integrated literacy initiatives in educational and financial institutions as well as the policy ramifications for digital resilience.