Fintech adoption as sustainable finance infrastructure: evidence from SMEs in Batangas province, Philippines

Small and medium enterprises increasingly rely on financial technology services for payments, liquidity management, and access to credit. From an environmental economics perspective, digital finance may support green and sustainable finance infrastructure by reducing transaction and compliance costs, improving traceability and information quality, and enabling risk pricing and incentive mechanisms aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This Brief Research Report does not directly measure sustainability outcomes; instead, it examines SME awareness and utilization of FinTech services in Batangas Province, Philippines, and interprets these as enabling conditions for future participation in sustainable finance. A survey of 349 SMEs across five cities was conducted using a structured questionnaire based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and UTAUT2. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize awareness and utilization patterns, while multiple linear regression identified awareness determinants associated with overall utilization. Resultsshow that SMEs were generally aware of FinTech adoption factors, with an overall mean of 3.41 out of 4.00, and the highest awareness was observed for performance expectancy at 3.56. Utilization was concentrated in mainstream digital services, particularly mobile banking, online banking, and e-banking, while large-value and clearing services such as PhilPaSS/RTGS and PESONet were least used. Regression findings revealed that facilitating conditions and hedonic motivation were the strongest correlates of utilization, followed by performance expectancy, social influence, price value, and habit. Effort expectancy was not significant. The findings suggest that improving digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, data governance, and interoperability can strengthen SME readiness for green loans, climate-risk insurance, and traceable supply-chain finance.