Money at my Fingertips: Decoding the Role of Referent Network Size and Financial Knowledge in Reinforcing Continuance Intention of m-Payment Services

ABSTRACT

Service providers are ardent about promoting mobile payment (M-payment) technologies that enhance customer experience and foster a favorable attitude toward M-payments. Considering this, our study investigates the continuance intention of M-payment services, encouraging mobile users to utilize M-payments in their everyday financial transactions. Our research used structural equation modeling (SEM) to expand the horizons of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) and the traditional behavioral intention model (TBIM) in M-payments. The survey examined the intention of 620 mobile users to continue using M-payment services. Mediation and moderation techniques explored the models’ direct and indirect relationships. The results show that users’ attitude toward M-payment is amplified by quality of service, financial knowledge, perceived enjoyment, and referent network size, further escalating the continuance intention of M-payment services. Customers’ attitudes toward M-payment services partially mediate the relationship between the underlying constructs. Moreover, perceived customer responsiveness strengthens the link, whereas perceived technological uncertainty weakens the association between user attitude toward M-payment services and continuous intention. The study results could be useful for various stakeholders, including M-payment service providers, retail managers, customers, marketing companies, and policymakers, in enhancing India’s digital payment infrastructure.

KEYWORDS:

• Referent network size
• financial knowledge
• perceived technological uncertainty
• perceived customer responsiveness
• perceived enjoyment
• continuance intention of M-payment services
• traditional behavioral intention model
• UTAUT2

Acknowledgment

The authors thank the esteemed associate editor and reviewers for their valuable suggestions in improving the quality of our manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received funding from the Institution of Eminence (IoE), Banaras Hindu University, India, to conduct this research [Grant Number: No. R/Dev/D/loE/Seed Grant/ 2022-23/].

Notes on contributors

Neha Kumari

Ms. Neha Kumari is a Research Scholar at the Institute of Management Studies, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. She has an MBA from Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University and has qualified UGC-NET in Management. She has been published in the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) ranked and Scopus Q1-indexed journals, including the International Journal of Bank Marketing and the Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce. She is on the reviewer board of several reputed journals published by Emerald, SAGE, Taylor & Francis, and Springer. Her research interests include Banking, M-payments, Consumer Behavior, and Artificial Intelligence.

Abhijeet Biswas

Dr. Abhijeet Biswas is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Management Studies, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. He is an M.B.A. (Gold Medalist) from the Faculty of Management Studies, Banaras Hindu University, and has qualified UGC-NET-JRF in Management Ten times in a row. Dr. Biswas is ranked among the Top 50 Researchers in India based on the P-Rank as per the ABDC Journal Quality List 2019 Ranking. He features in the Top 5 based on the criteria of Sole Author Publications. As of now, Dr. Biswas has 16 publications (of which 11 are Sole Author/First Author Publications) in Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) ranked and Scopus Q1-indexed journals, which include the International Journal of Bank Marketing, Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Benchmarking: An International Journal, International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, International Journal of Educational Management, International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, Society and Business Review etc. His research interests include Banking, Behavioral Finance, and Consumer Behavior.