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The COVID-19 outbreak has caused a considerable cash crunch among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In this context, we explore whether financial technology (fintech) and traditional finance could produce a shielding effect on SMEs to reduce the impact of COVID-19. Utilizing a unique dataset of China’s SMEs in the pre- and post-periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, we find that in regions with a well-developed fintech and traditional finance environment and in SMEs that utilize more fintech and traditional finance instruments, the pandemic has had less of an impact on the cash shortage. More importantly, this study indicates that fintech is more effective in reducing the negative impact of the pandemic and helping SMEs recover in the post-pandemic period. Our analyses may shed light on the crisis management and economic reconstitution of SMEs.

The Shielding Effect of Access to Finance on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises during the COVID-19 Crisis: Comparing Fintech and Traditional Finance