Assessing Digital and Financial Literacy

Tebbutt Research partnered with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) on a major regional study assessing digital and financial literacy across Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu and Timor-Leste with funding support from the Government of Australia and the European Union.

The published reports provide a practical evidence base for governments, regulators, development partners and financial service providers working to improve digital financial capability, consumer protection and financial inclusion across the region.

Links to reports for each country are listed below.

Assessing Digital and Financial Literacy in Fiji: A Survey on Knowledge, Skills and Access

Project details
Client / partner: United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)
Programme: Pacific Digital Economy Programme / Digital Finance for Resilience
Countries covered: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu and Timor-Leste
Topic: Digital and financial literacy, financial inclusion, digital financial services, consumer protection
Output: Seven public country reports and associated key findings materials
Tebbutt role: Regional research partner supporting implementation, data collection, analysis and reporting

Evidence for digital financial inclusion

Digital financial services can help people manage money, receive payments, access services and participate more fully in the economy. But access to technology does not automatically create confidence, capability or safe usage.

Across the Pacific, governments and development partners need reliable evidence on what people know, what tools they can access, how they use financial services, and where the gaps are most significant.

That is what this study set out to provide.

UNCDF partnered with Tebbutt Research to conduct a digital and financial literacy survey across seven countries, exploring people’s experience with traditional and digital financial services as well as their competencies in areas of digitalisation and finance.

The findings are intended to support targeted interventions for women, MSMEs, youth, migrant workers, rural communities and other groups that may face barriers to full participation in the digital economy.

A seven-country research programme

The study covered:

• Fiji
• Papua New Guinea
• Samoa
• Solomon Islands
• Tonga
• Vanuatu
• Timor-Leste

The country reports provide baseline evidence on digital access, financial behaviours, financial knowledge, use of digital financial services, attitudes towards technology, perceived risk and consumer confidence.

This kind of work matters because digital and financial literacy are not abstract concepts. They affect how people receive income, manage expenses, use bank accounts, adopt mobile money, engage with online services, assess risk and protect themselves from scams or misuse.

For policy makers and programme designers, good data helps identify where capability-building efforts are most needed and how interventions can be targeted.

Tebbutt Research’s contribution

Tebbutt Research worked as UNCDF’s regional research partner for the study.

Tebbutt Research partnered with UNCDF in the design and implementation of this multi-country study, including data collection, analysis and reporting.

Our role drew on capabilities that are central to Tebbutt Research’s work across the region:
- Research implementation across multiple Pacific markets
- Local fieldwork systems and multi-lingual translation
- Ethical considerations for sensitive topics and interviewing young people
- Mixed-mode quantitative data collection
- Quality assurance
- Sampling and respondent selection in varied national contexts
- Data processing, weighting, analysis and interpretation
- Reporting for policy, development and programme audiences
- Practical understanding of Pacific communities and research conditions

Why the methodology mattered

The Fiji survey used a mixed-mode approach, combining telephone and face-to-face interviewing. This was important because a purely digital or telephone-based approach would risk excluding people with limited access to phones, internet or digital devices.

Interviewing covered individuals aged 15 to 74 years, using CATI and CAPI methodologies, administered in English and local languages.

That kind of design reflects a practical reality of Pacific research: methodology needs to fit the context. Digital inclusion cannot be measured properly if the research method itself excludes people with lower digital access.

Across the region, the study required a balance between consistency and localisation. Each country needed comparable measures, but also field methods, language handling and implementation approaches that worked in the local setting.

From data collection to decision-ready evidence

The purpose of the study was not simply to produce statistics. The reports were designed to help regulators, governments and development partners understand where digital and financial literacy gaps exist, how those gaps differ across population groups, and what this means for future interventions.

For example, in Fiji, the report found moderate levels of digital and financial literacy, with room for growth around uptake of digital financial services and familiarity with safeguards for digital use. It also found that digital and financial literacy varied by age, urban-rural location, education and socio-economic status.

Findings like these are valuable because they help move discussion beyond broad assumptions. They show where capability is already present, where access is a barrier, where confidence is low, and where targeted support may be most useful.

A practical contribution to Pacific development

Tebbutt Research has worked in the Pacific for more than three decades. We bring local teams, research infrastructure, field systems, data capability and reporting experience to projects that require both technical discipline and practical regional knowledge.

This study is one example of how that capability contributes to development work in the region.

Digital and financial literacy are central to inclusive growth. Measuring them well requires research that reaches people across different communities, captures real behaviour and produces findings that can be used by decision makers.

Tebbutt Research’s work on this study reflects the role we continue to play in the Pacific: helping clients and partners turn complex questions into usable evidence.

Published reports

The full set of public country reports can be accessed through UNCDF:

• Fiji – Assessing Digital and Financial Literacy
• Papua New Guinea – Assessing Digital and Financial Literacy
• Samoa – Assessing Digital and Financial Literacy
• Solomon Islands – Assessing Digital and Financial Literacy
• Timor-Leste – Assessing Digital and Financial Literacy
• Tonga – Assessing Digital and Financial Literacy
• Vanuatu – Assessing Digital and Financial Literacy