An Exploration of Antecedents of Initial Trust in M-Payments

Abstract

This study aims to investigate factors influencing the formation of consumers' initial trust in m-payments in a developing country such as India. Despite being considered a significant pre-adoption factor, initial trust in m-payments has remained underexplored. To fulfill this research gap, a cross-sectional survey of 1,087 respondents has been conducted, and the analysis has been done using factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Results indicate that consumers' awareness about m-payments and perceived integrity of mobile service providers positively influence initial trust, whereas perceived risks have a significant negative influence, and perceived opportunism of service provider has a marginally significant influence on the formation of initial trust. The findings will be helpful to the m-payment vendors, mobile network operators, and technology providers to enhance trust-building mechanisms in mobile payment systems that can have a positive impact on the adoption and usage of m-payments.