Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the technology acceptance model (TAM) and structural equation modeling (SEM) might be used to assess customer acceptance of financial apps aiming at paving the road for enabling a cashless society in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a convenience sample of 600 users of the BenefitPay app in the Kingdom of Bahrain, this study used the quantitative research approach to obtain 427 usable responses. Following a descriptive study to establish a framework for the data and a subsequent inferential analysis using SEM with confirmatory factor analysis, the research hypotheses were tested.

Findings

The results of this study back up what is claimed in the TAM theory literature, which shows that banking customers in the Kingdom of Bahrain who use e-payment methods are more likely to use BenefitPay if it is both easy to use and useful. BenefitPay systems behavioral intention to use was also highly influenced by aspects like ease of use and usefulness, which enable the development of cashless societies.

Research limitations/implications

This research work contribution is described through exploring how a cashless society is developed using electronic apps by studying the case of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Kingdom of Bahrain is unique, and hence the knowledge obtained from studying it cannot be applied mechanically to any other nation. Instead, the paper seeks to explain the motivations behind Bahrain’s move toward a cashless society, to analyze the difficulties and potential benefits of this transition and to spark much-needed conversations on how having less cash or none would affect the economies. Bahrain’s BenefitPay systems can be seen as a current pushing force toward cashless society; thus, understanding how people in the Kingdom of Bahrain adopt e-payment techniques is vital.

Originality/value

The TAM conceptual model is experimentally validated in this study using cutting-edge methods like SEM with value creation for banking sector management, making it stand out from similar research. This research may prove useful in laying the groundwork for a cashless society in the Kingdom of Bahrain by analyzing the key elements that affect the BenefitPay app.

中文翻译：

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迈向无现金社会：使用 TAM 和 SEM 评估巴林 BenefitPay 的接受度

目的

本文的目的是探讨如何使用技术接受模型 (TAM) 和结构方程模型 (SEM) 来评估客户对金融应用程序的接受程度，旨在为巴林王国实现无现金社会铺平道路。

设计/方法论/途径

本研究以巴林王国 BenefitPay 应用程序的 600 名用户为样本，采用定量研究方法获得了 427 条可用的回复。通过描述性研究建立数据框架，并使用 SEM 和验证性因素分析进行​​后续推断分析，对研究假设进行了检验。

发现

这项研究的结果支持了TAM理论文献中的说法，即如果BenefitPay既易于使用又实用，那么使用电子支付方式的巴林王国银行客户更有可能使用它。BenefitPay系统的使用行为意图也受到易用性和实用性等方面的很大影响，这些因素促进了无现金社会的发展。

研究局限性/影响

这项研究工作的贡献是通过研究巴林王国的案例来探索如何使用电子应用程序开发无现金社会。巴林王国是独一无二的，因此通过研究巴林王国获得的知识不能机械地应用于任何其他国家。相反，本文试图解释巴林迈向无现金社会背后的动机，分析这一转型的困难和潜在好处，并引发急需的关于现金减少或没有现金将如何影响经济的对话。巴林的 BenefitPay 系统可以被视为当前无现金社会的推动力；因此，了解巴林王国人们如何采用电子支付技术至关重要。

原创性/价值

本研究使用 SEM 等尖端方法对 TAM 概念模型进行了实验验证，为银行业管理创造价值，使其在同类研究中脱颖而出。通过分析影响 BenefitPay 应用程序的关键要素，这项研究可能有助于为巴林王国的无现金社会奠定基础。