Secure FinTech Supply Chains: Product Strategies for SD-WAN-Enabled Payments

Abstract

The rapid expansion of financial technology (FinTech) has reshaped global payment systems, demanding secure, resilient, and innovation-driven strategies to sustain competitive advantage. This study investigates the integration of secure FinTech practices, supply chain resilience, product strategies, and Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) in enabling efficient and trustworthy payment infrastructures. Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected from 120 FinTech firms and analyzed through descriptive statistics, factor analysis, regression modeling, MANOVA, correlation analysis, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results revealed that encryption, authentication reliability, and fraud detection are central to security, while supply chain resilience and innovation intensity strongly contribute to strategic effectiveness. Regression analysis identified SD-WAN adoption as the most significant predictor of payment security, supported by compliance adherence and fraud detection mechanisms. MANOVA results demonstrated that network latency optimization and product strategy alignment significantly improved transaction efficiency and customer trust. Correlation and PCA further highlighted the interconnectedness of security, compliance, innovation, and resilience as the dominant latent dimensions shaping FinTech outcomes. This study contributes by offering an integrated framework for secure FinTech supply chains, emphasizing that SD-WAN adoption, aligned product strategies, and sustainability-oriented practices are critical to building future-ready payment systems.