Exploring the relationship between the digital literacy skills, digital financial inclusion and socio-economic development among B40 in Selangor

The digital world, where technology is pivotal for economic growth and national development, emphasizes the importance of digital literacy skills and practice in fostering digital financial inclusion, particularly for B40 groups. These lower-income households face socio-economic challenges such as single parenthood, limited education, poor health, and high living costs. Considering these issues, this research aimed to identify the level of technical skills, cognitive skills, ethical skills, socioeconomic development, and digital financial inclusion among B40 groups in Selangor; to examine the relationship between technical skills, cognitive skills, ethical skills, socio-economic development, and digital financial inclusion among B40 groups in Selangor; and to examine the relationship between digital financial inclusion and socioeconomic development among B40 groups in Selangor. The method taken in this research was a quantitative method, and it was used to distribute survey questionnaires to B40 groups in Selangor. By employing the Raosoft Sample Calculator, population of B40 three districts in Selangor; Petaling, Klang and Hulu Langat, which totals 33,243 households, the sample size for this research consists of 380 B40's. Out of the entire set of responses, 337 in number, 277 were deemed to be valid and complete which is 17.8% were rejected due to missing values. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and SmartPLS software, with a particular focus on performing descriptive analysis and structural equation modelling. The results indicate that 4 out of 5 hypothesis testing has yielded statistically significant findings. The technical, cognitive, ethical, and social-emotional aspects of digital literacy skills have significant relationships to digital financial inclusion, which also plays a crucial role in socio-economic development. The research findings suggest that organizations, government and societies within Selangor should prioritize training and allocating resources to enhance B40's in Selangor overall socio-economic development. The research's empirical contributions include validated instruments and hypotheses that can be utilized in future research to further explore the relationships between Digital Literacy, Digital Financial Inclusion, and Socio-Economic Development. This study enriches digital literacy and financial inclusion theories by demonstrating how technical, ethical, and socio-emotional skills significantly influence socio-economic development among the B40 community. Methodologically, the study provides a validated survey instrument and applies structural equation modelling (SEM) to examine digital literacy, digital financial inclusion, and socio-economic development in an underrepresented population. The findings show the importance of reducing poverty, creating employment, increasing income, enhancing living standards, bringing about social justice, decreasing income inequality, and improving quality of life while supporting other goals of sustainable development in Malaysia, especially SDGs 1, 8, 10, and 11. Practically, the findings guide policymakers and organizations to design targeted digital literacy and digital financial inclusion initiatives that support poverty reduction, income growth, and sustainable development goals.