Financial Technology Adoption and Change Management of Rural Banks in compliance with BSP NSFI 2022-2028: Basis for Business Transformation Roadmap

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship and impact between the perceived level of financial technology adoption and the extent of change management process among Philippine Rural Banks in compliance and strategic context of the Central Bank of the Philippines’ (BSP) National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) 2022–2028 under the core pillar one of inclusive digital financial service. Utilizing a Quantitative-Correlational Research Design with Impact Analysis, data were collected from thirty-nine (39) purposively selected decision makers of BSP-regulated and RBAP-member rural banks in Laguna, Philippines. The findings revealed that the overall perceived level of FinTech adoption among the rural banks was "Adopted," with a composite mean of 3.03. Consumer Protection and Data Security ranked highest (3.27, Highly Adopted), while Digital Infrastructure was identified as the most significant technical hurdle (2.61, Adopted). The extent of the change management process was assessed as "Implemented" with an overall mean of 2.92. The banks demonstrated proficiency in Implementation and Training Execution (2.97) but faced their greatest challenge in the Institutionalization phase (2.87). Also, there is a significant positive relationship between FinTech adoption and the change management process, yielding a Spearman rho coefficient of 0.804 (p < 0.001) and rejecting the first null hypothesis. While the impact analysis for change management yielded a p-value of 0.346 leading to a failure to reject the second null hypothesis at the aggregate level, specific dimensions had profound impacts. Most notably, Alignment with BSP Digitalization Policies emerged as a highly significant impact of organizational Readiness and Urgency (p=0.001) and Communication and Buy-in (p=0.002). Strategic alignment with national regulatory directives acts as a more powerful catalyst for organizational readiness and communication than technical infrastructure alone. Based on the study, a Business Transformation Roadmap is proposed to help rural banking leaders bridge the gap between compliance-driven implementation and the permanent institutionalization of inclusive digital financial services.