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<p>The rapid expansion of digital finance has reshaped corporate financing behavior, particularly in Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), where economic disparities remain pronounced. This study investigates the impact of digital finance on firms’ access to trade credit in YREB, focusing on how digital tools enhance information quality and improve credit accessibility. Using panel data from 794 listed firms during 2011–2022, we employ fixed effects model and apply a series of robustness checks to address potential endogeneity concerns. The results reveal that digital finance significantly expands trade credit availability, with stronger effects observed among firms with lower social trust, weaker market institutions and limited visibility. Additionally, this positive effect is more pronounced among non-state-owned enterprises. Mechanism tests confirm that digital finance enhances financial reporting quality, reduces asset specificity, improves asset turnover, and shortens distance to default, hence promoting firms’ credit capacity. These findings enrich evidence for the financial enabling role of digital tools and offer policy implications for strengthening credit access and narrowing regional financing gaps in the digital economy era.</p>

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The impact of digital finance on trade credit: empirical evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月8日

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  • Shuke Fu,
  • Yingchen Ge,
  • Guopeng Wang,
  • Jiali Tian,
  • Jiachao Peng,
  • Jia Xiao

摘要

The rapid expansion of digital finance has reshaped corporate financing behavior, particularly in Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), where economic disparities remain pronounced. This study investigates the impact of digital finance on firms’ access to trade credit in YREB, focusing on how digital tools enhance information quality and improve credit accessibility. Using panel data from 794 listed firms during 2011–2022, we employ fixed effects model and apply a series of robustness checks to address potential endogeneity concerns. The results reveal that digital finance significantly expands trade credit availability, with stronger effects observed among firms with lower social trust, weaker market institutions and limited visibility. Additionally, this positive effect is more pronounced among non-state-owned enterprises. Mechanism tests confirm that digital finance enhances financial reporting quality, reduces asset specificity, improves asset turnover, and shortens distance to default, hence promoting firms’ credit capacity. These findings enrich evidence for the financial enabling role of digital tools and offer policy implications for strengthening credit access and narrowing regional financing gaps in the digital economy era.