<p>China’s rapidly expanding fintech ecosystem, led by platforms such as Alipay and WeChat Pay, has transformed access to digital financial services, yet its implications for consumer behavior and social inclusion remain insufficiently understood. Extending the Technology Acceptance Model, this study examines how perceived trust, ease of use, service quality, financial literacy, social influence, and perceived government policy support shape consumer behavior toward digital financial services, and how digital literacy strengthens these relationships. Drawing on survey data from 600 Chinese adults, the findings show that all proposed antecedents positively influence consumer behavior, collectively explaining 61.2% of its variance. Digital literacy emerges as the strongest driver and significantly amplifies the effects of trust, usability, service quality, financial literacy, social influence, and policy support. These findings challenge prevailing assumptions that digitalization automatically ensures inclusion, showing instead that inclusive fintech adoption depends on users’ capability to operationalize digital tools within supportive technological, social, and institutional environments. Practically, the study suggests that fintech firms should combine secure, user-friendly platform design with embedded digital guidance, while policymakers should complement regulatory and infrastructure initiatives with targeted digital literacy programs. The study offers mechanism-based insights for advancing equitable digital finance in China and other emerging markets undergoing rapid financial digitalization.</p>