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From 2021, prices began to rise sharply in many European countries without incomes keeping up. Under such circumstances, households partly depend on government intervention to moderate the effects of inflation. Segments of the population will also depend on welfare schemes to stay financially afloat and avoid severe detriment and poverty. This article asks how well welfare states protect households in a cost-of-living crisis. Based on Esping-Andersen's regime theory, two countries are investigated: the United Kingdom and Norway, which represent the liberal and the social-democratic model, respectively. The empirical analysis shows that both countries introduced first- and second-level measures to mitigate the cost-of-living crisis at the household level. The fall in financial well-being was greater in Norway than in the United Kingdom due to late and less generous second-level targeted payments to vulnerable households. However, while such support may alleviate the difficulties of dealing with price increases, it tends to be time-limited, while high prices persist following periods of rapid inflation. In conclusion, the ideal would be to have generous first-level permanent transfers that protect people's standard of living and to adjust the provisions promptly to compensate as prices increase.

The prime purpose of the study is to analyse the effect of fintech adoption on the financial well-being of persons with disabilities (PWDs), considering the intervening role of financial behaviour, financial access and financial knowledge.

A self-administered survey schedule collected primary data on fintech adoption and financial well-being among 205 PWD, through snowball sampling from January to May 2023. Researchers used exploratory factor analysis to identify reliable factors and PLS-SEM for testing mediation and research hypotheses.

The study’s outcome found that fintech adoption does not directly impact the financial well-being of PWDs. Instead, the impact on financial well-being is explained by mediating factors like financial access, financial knowledge and financial behaviour. Financial access is the most significant among these mediating factors.

The study demonstrates the significance of mediating factors in comprehending the influence of fintech adoption on financial well-being. These results underpin existing literature on determinants of financial well-being.

Findings evidenced that developing disabled-friendly fintech tools can enhance financial access, reduce inequality and improve the financial well-being of PWDs, which would be helpful for public policymakers.

There has been no comprehensive study conducted on this topic, particularly among PWDs. In the current study, an effort is being made to examine the relative effects of fintech adoption on financial well-being directly and indirectly through mediating variables.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-08-2023-0596