Exploratory study of credit-card indebtedness during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to study the impact of the current COVID-19 global pandemic on the selected intrinsic and extrinsic factors associated with behaviour personal indebtedness; namely, the changing landscape of credit-card indebtedness. The hypotheses were derived from the literature and focuses on moderating aspects of financial knowledge and responsibility with potential gender bias in purchasing essentials and paying down current debt burden. It was found that financial knowledge was the most powerful factor of the many intrinsic/extrinsic motivational factors explored in predicting essential purchases and debt maintenance. There were some gender differences, but both strongly agreed that such debt would not negatively impact attaining their life's goals. It appears that younger, lower-income professionals were more conscious about managing their debt than some older, more wealthy individuals. Credit-card rewards have always been a major motivating factor to induce credit-card use. In purchasing basic essentials, credit rewards were not found to be significant as financial knowledge and lifestyle images.