Investigating Customer Behavior of Using Contactless Payment in China: A Comparative Study of Facial Recognition Payment and Mobile QR-Code Payment

Abstract

Emerging technologies have made tremendous changes in people’s daily lives, and they have profoundly influenced their economic and consumption activities. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has also drastically increased individuals’ usage of contactless payment technologies, such as mobile and facial recognition payments, which has accelerated the transformation of digital transaction services in China. In this study, the findings show that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and service security can affect the perceived value and user satisfaction of using contactless payment. Moreover, a higher perceived value and satisfaction level may encourage more post-adoption behaviors, such as continuous and habitual usage of contactless payment methods or encouraging others to use contactless payment methods via word-of-mouth; however, perceived value did not have a direct effect on continuous usage. In addition, there are certain differences in user behavior depending on whether facial recognition payment or mobile QR-code payment is used. For QR-code payment users, overall, their satisfaction and post-adoption behaviors are more strongly bonded with each other compared with the behaviors of facial recognition payment users. This study has generated more information and insight into the transformation of digital payment and can help managers align their strategies more efficiently in the post-pandemic era.