Fintech Development and Corporate Financial Policies: Evidence from Non-Financial Firms in the MENA Region

This study examines the association between fintech development and corporate financing and investment policies among non-financial listed firms in ten MENA countries over 2010–2024. Using firm-level financial and market data together with country-year measures of fintech development, the analysis evaluates whether digital financial development is associated with firms’ external financing and investment activity. The baseline estimates indicate positive and statistically significant associations between fintech development and both external financing and corporate investment. Additional analyses examine heterogeneity related to information asymmetry, corporate governance, financial constraints, and ownership structure, as well as associations with the cost of debt, investment efficiency, and firm value. Robustness tests employ alternative fintech proxies and complementary specifications. The findings contribute to the literature by providing firm-level evidence from the MENA region and by documenting conditions under which the association between digital financial development and corporate financial policies varies. The results are interpreted as conditional associations rather than causal effects.