Against the backdrop of the digital economy, this study examines rural areas across five northwestern provinces of China. It constructs an evaluation framework for rural financial services based on four dimensions—financial service penetration, usage, coverage, and innovation capacity—using 2024 data. Principal component analysis is employed for measurement. Empirical findings reveal that regions with higher rural economic development generally exhibit stronger overall economic growth. Moreover, rural economic growth stimulates the development of rural financial institutions. Financial institutions in economically advanced regions gain greater capital and motivation to optimize and upgrade financial services, thereby enhancing their own economic development. Concurrently, robust institutional capital, comprehensive and extensive financial service infrastructure, superior financial products, and efficient deposit-to-loan conversion rates collectively elevate the region’s financial service capacity, quality, and efficiency, ultimately driving economic advancement. Furthermore, theoretical analysis indicates that financial service innovation significantly promotes rural economic development, with the extent of this promotion varying depending on the specific rural industries empowered by such innovation.