Adoption and Impact of Mobile-Based Fintech Platforms on Retail Investment Decision-Making in Tier-II Indian Cities, Jalandhar and Ludhiana

Financial technology (FinTech) has experienced a rapid development and has transformed the way in which retail investors access and participate in financial markets. Mobile-based investment platforms have simplified the investment process by making it more convenient and efficient, allowing users to trade and manage investments using smartphones. This research explores the utilisation of mobile-based FinTech investment services and their influences on the investment behaviour of retail investors in Tier-II cities of Punjab, mainly at Jalandhar and Ludhiana. The study focuses on platform awareness, usage behaviour, features influencing, risk perception, and technical comfort as some of the critical variables that make an impact on investment decisions. A quantitative research design was used, and we collected primary data through a structured questionnaire that was distributed via Google Forms. There were 139 valid responses that were analysed using SPSS software. To examine the relationships between variables, statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha reliability test, Pearson correlation analysis, independent sample t-tests, and one-way ANOVA were applied. The results indicate that retail investors are highly aware and their perception towards mobile investment applications is positive. The platform awareness, usage behaviour, application features, risk perception, technical comfort, and investment behaviour were found to have a positive impact on investment decisions. However, demographic factors such as gender and occupation did not have a significant influence on the platform awareness, usage behaviour, features influencing, risk perception, technical comfort and investment behaviour related to mobile-based investment platforms.