How does FinTech empower China's rural revitalization? The role of entrepreneurial activeness, innovation capability and industrial structure advancement

PurposeFinancial technology (FinTech) has enhanced the inclusivity and accessibility of traditional finance, offering a novel pathway for rural revitalization and development. The paper aims to assess the rural revitalization development level in prefecture-level cities in China and investigate the potential impact mechanism of FinTech.Design/methodology/approachThis paper develops an index system to evaluate the rural revitalization level across 279 cities in China from 2011 to 2021. In addition, multi-mediation and threshold models are employed to analyze how FinTech influences rural revitalization.FindingsThe results reveal that, first, FinTech has significantly promoted rural revitalization. Second, entrepreneurial activeness, innovation capability, and industrial structure advancement are intermediary factors within the benchmark path. Third, FinTech exhibits varied threshold effects in entrepreneurial activeness, innovation capability, and industrial structure advancement, influencing rural revitalization with diverse impacts.Originality/valueFirst, this paper expands the rural revitalization evaluation to include 30 indexes, enhancing overall measurement comprehensiveness. Second, in contrast to previous research concentrating on provincial-level assessments, this paper explores rural revitalization across 279 cities in China from 2011 to 2021, broadening the study's scope and timeline. Third, this paper delves into empirical evidence illustrating how FinTech contributes to rural revitalization through entrepreneurial activeness, urban innovation capability, and industrial structure advancement, thereby deepening research in this domain.