Adoption factors in digital lending services offered by FinTech lenders

Research background: Traditional financial institutions are facing new competitors - FinTech lenders. The development of these entities and their services depends on many factors, including the level of their acceptance and use by potential and/or current customers. This acceptance determines the ability to create desired financial results and defines the set of FinTech lenders' activities and also their environment aimed at shaping the offer which meets their consumers' expectations. The limited number of studies addressing the identification and assessment of the impact exerted by the adoption factors of lending services offered by FinTech lenders and the lack of such analyzes relating to these decisions made by consumers from Central and Eastern Europe argue for the need to conduct such research. Purpose of the article: Identify factors driving consumers' adoption of digital lending services offered by FinTech lenders in Poland. Methods: Critical analysis of the source literature, descriptive and comparative analysis, diagnostic survey, econometric methods (PCA, SEM used in the TAM). Empirical data come from the surveys carried out in May 2022 using the CAWI method and covering a representative sample of 1,000 Poles. Findings & value added: The study identified factors driving consumers' adoption of digital lending services, including perceived trust, risk, usefulness and financial health. It has been proven that the perceived ease of use and innovation do not represent the statistically significant constructs influencing the accepted adoption attitudes. The adopted research model shows a considerable power to explain the intention of using digital loans. The article is the first scientific study of this type discussing the identification of adoption factors for loan services offered by FinTech lenders operating on the Central and Eastern European market. The presented example of Poland being the leader in this dynamically developing market provides the background for conducting international comparative studies in the future.