How digital ethical literacy, environmental faith and ethical fintech value shape sustainable digital gold investment

Purpose This study proposes and validates a parsimonious ethical–spiritual fintech model in which Perceived Ethical Fintech Value operates as the central mechanism translating Digital Ethical Literacy and Environmental Faith Consciousness into Sustainable Investment Behavior and Spiritual Satisfaction within Islamic digital gold investment. Design/methodology/approach Survey data from 361 Muslim digital gold investors in Indonesia were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). PLS-SEM was selected due to the model's predictive orientation, its inclusion of mediation effects and the exploratory integration of emerging ethical–digital and faith-based constructs in a developing fintech context. Findings Perceived ethical fintech value plays a pivotal mediating role in the model. Digital ethical literacy influences sustainable investment behavior both directly and indirectly through perceived ethical fintech value. In contrast, environmental faith consciousness affects sustainable investment behavior primarily through perceived ethical fintech value rather than through a direct relationship. Sustainable investment behavior strongly predicts spiritual satisfaction, indicating that ethical investment practices lead to meaningful spiritual outcomes. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional design limits causal inference, while the purposive and snowball sampling of Muslim digital gold investors in Indonesia restricts the generalizability of the findings. Reliance on self-reported measures may also introduce common method and social desirability bias. Practical implications Digital gold fintech platforms should prioritize verifiable Sharia compliance, transparent gold-backing disclosure, and clear reporting of environmental responsibility to strengthen perceived ethical value. Embedding features such as real-time asset traceability, Sharia audit visibility, zakat integration tools and sustainability-linked communication can convert users' ethical literacy and faith consciousness into sustained responsible investment participation. Originality/value This study advances Islamic fintech research by demonstrating that ethical value perception is the key transmission pathway linking digital ethical capability and faith-based environmental awareness to sustainable investment behavior and spiritual satisfaction in digital gold markets.