Financial Self-Efficacy as a Mediator of Literacy and Financial Management in College Students

Abstract

The rapid development of digital financial services has changed how people manage their money, especially among university students. In Indonesia, electronic money transactions reached IDR 2,503.96 trillion and QRIS users grew to 49.76 million. However, a pre-survey among Management students at Universitas Dian Nuswantoro found that 67.3% did not track their spending, 54.5% had no monthly budget, and 43.6% did not understand how to use digital financial services responsibly. This study aims to analyze the role of financial self-efficacy as a mediator between financial literacy, digital financial literacy, and financial management behavior. A quantitative approach was used with 156 students selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed with multiple linear regression, path analysis, and the Sobel test using IBM SPSS 31. The results show that financial literacy has a positive and significant effect on both financial management (β = 0.359, p < 0.001) and financial self-efficacy (β = 0.238, p < 0.001). Digital financial literacy also positively and significantly affects financial management (β = 0.141, p = 0.040) and financial self-efficacy (β = 0.414, p < 0.001). Financial self-efficacy significantly predicts financial management behavior (β = 0.298, p < 0.001). The Sobel test confirms that financial self-efficacy mediates the effect of financial literacy on financial management (Z = 2.40) and the effect of digital financial literacy on financial management (Z = 3.25). The model explains 53.1% of the variance in financial management behavior. These findings extend the application of Social Cognitive Theory by demonstrating that financial self-efficacy serves as the psychological mechanism through which financial literacy and digital financial literacy are translated into responsible financial management behavior.