The emergence of “digital economy” is both a favorable and unfavorable factor, which brings many opportunities and challenges for the whole banking industry. In recent years, along with the rapid development of digital economy and network technology, the financial industry is experiencing a profound revolution. Selecting the data of 42 commercial banks in China from 2010 to 2021 as a sample, the effect of digital transformation on the business performance of commercial banks was examined from the aspects of profitability and safety respectively, and on this basis, examines whether the effect of digital transformation is heterogeneous. The empirical results show that digital transformation has a significant positive effect on the improvement of commercial banks’ profitability and security, and there is heterogeneity in the effects of digital transformation on commercial banks’ business performance across different types of banks and different regions. Therefore, commercial banks need to clarify their transformation strategies, upgrade their technology systems and realize product innovations to facilitate digital transformation.