Prioritization of factors to increase adoption of e-wallet transactions among customers and SMEs in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Abstract

The Malaysian government instituted the 'cashless society' programme in 2018 to increase financial transaction transparency. Since the advent of eWallet in Malaysia, customers’ and SMEs’ uptake has been slow. Hence, a study such as this is deemed necessary to investigate the real reasons behind the hesitance in using eWallet amongst the Malaysian public. In other words, it is timely to find out the prioritizing factors that could increase the adoption of eWallet transactions. This study fills the void in literature about this matter by developing a Hierarchical Model which enables the prioritize of certain prioritizing factors that could increase the adoption of eWallet transactions. The main objectives of this study are to develop a hierarchical model which prioritize the factors that could increase the adoption of eWallet transactions among customers and SMEs entrepreneurs in Klang valley, Malaysia. The Sequential Mixed Method was adopted by combining the qualitative and quantitative approaches in this study. Data for both the stages was purposely gathered from the Customers and SME entrepreneurs in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The Customers comprised of senior managers, managers from the public and private sectors while the SMEs were represented by their respective entrepreneurs. Semi structured interviews with 28 participants were initially performed to identify the factors benefitting from the use of eWallet and factors that enhanced SMEs growth through higher usage of eWallet. This was then followed by a questionnaire survey collected from 271 respondents who prioritized the identified findings. Thematic Analysis was utilized in the Customers’ qualitative stage, uncovering six identified factors namely ‘Convenience’, ‘Super App’, ‘Acceptability’, ‘Promotion’, ‘Security’ and ‘Rewards’. Meanwhile, for the SME entrepreneurs’ qualitative stage, five identified factors were identified namely ‘Convenience’, ‘Super App’, ‘Trust,’ ‘Promotion’ and ‘Security’. The survey results were analyzed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a mathematical model, and was further synthesized using the Super Decisions software. As a result, ‘Security’ came up as the most crucial prioritization factor for both the Customers and the SME entrepreneurs. The Hierarchical Model developed by this study is expected to provide valuable guidance to eWallet service providers, banking industry practitioners, and financial institutions. In the long run, an expanding mobile payment ecosystem in Malaysia's landscape will contribute to the country's robust economic development. Indeed, eWallet is a convenient method of payment even for laymen too.

Keywords: Cashless society, cardless, ePayment, eWallet, eBanking, eCurrency, Analytic Hierarchy Process.