Mobile Payment Adoption and Acceptance Dynamics

The widespread diffusion of smartphone technology and the digitisation of financial infrastructure have driven rapid growth in mobile payment services around the world. Research in this field has sought to understand the complex interplay of technological, psychological and contextual factors that determine whether individuals and organisations choose to adopt and continue using these services. Central to these efforts are theoretical frameworks such as the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2), which integrates constructs including performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions, and has been further extended with dimensions of trust, security and perceived risk. Studies have highlighted how habit formation, peer influence, perceived benefits and the robustness of supporting infrastructure shape adoption patterns across diverse demographic groups and economic contexts. Recent investigations have also explored the institutional and regulatory environments that enable mobile payment ecosystems to flourish in both developed and emerging markets. Practical applications span from peer-to-peer transfers and digital wallets to near-field-communication and biometric authentication solutions. Understanding these dynamics is essential for policymakers, financial institutions and technology providers seeking to expand financial inclusion, enhance user experience and drive sustainable growth in digital commerce.

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Research from all publishers

Meta-analytical synthesis of over a hundred studies on digital financial services has underscored the enduring importance of perceived usefulness, ease of use, security and trust in shaping adoption, while also revealing that cultural factors such as money orientation moderate these relationships. In a context-specific study of a Spanish peer-to-peer platform aimed at young adults, habit and social influence emerged as the dominant determinants of adoption intention, whereas factors like performance expectancy and perceived risk were less influential among this cohort. Comparative research on generational cohorts has further shown that digital natives prioritise the compatibility of mobile payments with their lifestyle, whereas digital immigrants place greater weight on ease of use, subjective norms and risk considerations. Collectively, these findings illustrate both universal drivers of mobile payment acceptance and the nuanced ways in which demographic and cultural contexts shape user behaviour.

Mobile Payment Adoption and Acceptance Dynamics publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in mobile payment adoption and acceptance dynamics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2): A theoretical framework integrating key constructs—performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions—to predict individuals’ adoption and use of technology.

Structural Equation Modelling (SEM): A statistical technique used to test and estimate causal relationships among observed and latent variables in a theoretical model.

Social influence: The degree to which individuals perceive that important others believe they should use a particular technology.

Performance expectancy: The extent to which a user believes that employing a technology will help achieve gains in task performance.

Perceived risk: The user’s assessment of potential negative outcomes—financial, security or privacy—associated with using a technology.

References

1. What are the leading factors for using Spanish peer-to-peer mobile payment platform Bizum? The applied analysis of the UTAUT2 model. Technological Forecasting and Social Change (2023).
2. Adoption and use of digital financial services: A meta analysis of barriers and facilitators. International Journal of Information Management Data Insights (2023).
3. Banking the unbanked. Constitutive rules and the institutionalization of mobile payment systems in Nigeria. Journal of Business Research (2023).
4. Do digital natives use mobile payment differently than digital immigrants? A comparative study between generation X and Z. Electronic Commerce Research (2022).
5. Do biometric payment systems work during the COVID-19 pandemic? Insights from the Spanish users' viewpoint. Financial Innovation (2022).
6. Aceitação da tecnologia NFC para pagamentos móveis: Uma perspectiva brasileira. Review of Business Management (2017).