“Why do people use a mobile wallet? The case of fintech companies in Jordan”

Understanding consumer intentions regarding mobile wallet (m-wallet) adoption is paramount in the mobile commerce landscape, particularly in cash-centric economies like Jordan. Despite efforts to shift toward digital payments, cash transactions remain prevalent, highlighting the need to explore m-wallet service adoption dynamics in Jordan. This study aims to identify the factors influencing Jordanian consumers’ adoption of m-wallet services, focusing on the motivations and barriers. Utilizing the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) as a theoretical foundation, the research integrates various models to assess technology acceptance. A questionnaire distributed among m-wallet users from fintech companies in Jordan garnered 421 responses, analyzed using the Smart PLS 3 software. The findings indicate a positive impact of all variables on the propensity for m-wallet adoption in Jordan. Notably, perceived usefulness, ease of use, and facilitating conditions significantly influenced user decisions, evidenced by R-square values of 0.78%, 0.758% and 0.684%, respectively. Meanwhile, perceived value, security, privacy, and social influence had a moderate effect. The attractiveness of alternatives and attitudes towards m-wallet usage showed lesser impact, with R-square values at 26.7% and 22.8%, respectively, illustrating varied influences on adoption rates in determining consumer adoption of m-wallet services in Jordan. This paper enhances research on mobile commerce in developing economies, focusing on Jordan. It explores the adoption of m-wallet services by fintech users, presenting a detailed model. The study provides valuable insights for advancing digital payment systems in this region.


INTRODUCTION
The surge in mobile transactions heightens the competition between traditional banks and fintech players, emphasizing the imperative for comprehensive mobile services via m-wallets.Despite their benefits, m-wallets encounter adoption challenges influenced by factors impacting user interest, notably psychological factors.Research highlights the vital importance of comprehending m-wallet adoption using various models and foundations.Existing studies focus on developed markets, neglecting emerging economies like India, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Thailand, Iran, and China, underscoring the need for a broader analysis.M-wallet adoption presents a solution to challenges in developing countries, providing governments with an opportunity to enhance financial inclusion.The cultural and market variations in m-payment adoption emphasize the significance of expanding research to more countries for a thorough understanding of technology adoption.
The slow adoption of mobile payments in Jordan, fueled by a preference for cash, security skepticism, and a sizable unbanked population, poses a significant challenge.Despite measures by the Central Bank, including the creation of the Jordanian Company for Payment and Clearing System, the transformative potential of digital financial services remains underutilized.

LITERATURE REVIEW
This section commences with an introduction to prominent theories elucidating technology adoption.Subsequently, the paper examines the factors influencing intentions to use technology, forming the basis for the research hypotheses.

Theoretical foundations in technology adoption
This section provides a concise overview of the theories and models guiding research on technology adoption, setting the stage for understanding how individuals and organizations embrace new technologies.
Extensive theoretical and empirical research has investigated understanding consumers' motivations for using specific technologies, aiming to uncover the decisive factors influencing their decision-making processes (Ajzen, 1991; Amoroso & Magnier-Watanabe, 2012; Katebi et al., 2022).These investigations encompass diverse perspectives, incorporating social, psychological, and individual elements as integral components of the decision-making process that shapes individual attitudes toward technology.This, in turn, influences the intention to adopt and utilize the technology (Ajzen, 1991; Amoroso & Magnier-Watanabe, 2012; Katebi et al., 2022).
The predominant theoretical paradigms guiding this research domain include the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT), Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT).
The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) stands out for its simplicity, conciseness, and reliability, identifying perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEoU) as key drivers influencing an individual's intentions to adopt new technology (Anouze & Alamro, 2020;Phonthanukitithaworn et al., 2015).TAM has evolved with extensions like TAM2 and TAM3, incorporating additional variables such as social influence.Numerous empirical studies in the realm of m-payment services have developed and tested various TAM variants, enhancing their explanatory and predictive capabilities by the 2010s (Jaradat & Mashaqba, 2014).
Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) explains the adoption of innovation over time through specific channels, leading to its adoption in a society (Phonthanukitithaworn et al., 2015).However, the most widely employed paradigm in recent years has been the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and its variants.UTAUT's main constructs include performance expectancy, PEoU, social influence (SI), facilitating conditions (FC), behavioral intention to use the system (BI), and PU ( The study involved distributing a questionnaire to 394 Saudi citizens, with the subsequent data analysis revealing that perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEoU), lifestyle compatibility, and facilitating conditions (FC) exerted a positive influence on the intention to adopt m-payments.
In their efforts to boost the adoption of m-payments, Pal and Team (2021)

Factors influencing technology use intentions
Figure 1 illustrates the hypothetical framework model of the study emphasizing the factors that affect intentions to use technology for people.
The first factor is the perceived ease of use (PEoU), which refers to users' perceptions of the likely physical and mental effort required to use a particular system or tool (Amoroso & Magnier-Watanabe, 2012; Davis, 1989;Venkatesh et al., 2003).Some researchers have used the DOI's complexity dimension with the TAM's ease of use ( The second important factor is perceived usefulness (PU), which is the degree to which individuals believe that using a particular system will enhance their performance (  (Cigdem & Topcu, 2015).As the relation of PU and BM proved to be positive in research relative to mobile-based services and internet products and services, and as m-wallets are also mobile-based, it can be anticipated that PU will be positively associated with the BM to use m-wallets.
The factor attitude toward using m-wallet (ATTD) refers to an individual's positive or negative feeling upon which they base a mindful plan to perform specific future behavior (Amoroso & Magnier-Watanabe, 2012; Khalilzadeh et al., 2017;Shin, 2009).Models including the UTAUT, TRA, TAM, and TPB assumed that attitude is a major predictor of BI (Khalilzadeh et al., 2017).A positive attitude can be created through a supportive environment that increases the IU system, including mobile penetration and internet infrastructure (Amoroso & Magnier-Watanabe, 2012).The paper expected that if Jordanian participants' attitudes toward m-wallets are positive, they will have higher usage.
Facilitating conditions (FC) comprises users' beliefs about the accessibility to prerequisite resources necessary to facilitate system use, such as hardware, software, and internet connectivity ( Keeney, 1999).PV has a positive effect on m-internet adoption intention, as users evaluate a trade-off between benefits and sacrifice factors and thus formulate their IU for a particular service (Kim et al., 2007;Kuo et al., 2009).Cognitive Evaluation Theory classifies motivations into extrinsic and intrinsic subsystems.Extrinsic benefits like usefulness relate to customers' cognitive assessments of the excellence or superiority of products, while intrinsic benefits pertain to personal pleasure or enjoyment derived from using technology.Both extrinsic and intrinsic factors have been found to influence BI (Keeney, 1999), particularly in modern mpayment contexts due to great PV among consumers (Amoroso & Magnier-Watanabe, 2012).
PV, as it pertains to financial costs, encompasses direct product/service costs, and ancillary ones (e.g., for internet access).Cheong et al. ( 2004) found an important effect of cost on switching from credit card payment to m-payment.Anouze and Alamro (2020) observed that internet usage in Jordan is artificially high due to fiscal policies affecting telecommunications providers, which significantly undermines IU with regard to e-banking.Generally low discretionary financial resources among Jordanian consumers make it prohibitively expensive to use the internet casually, such as for m-shopping purposes.Organizations can seek to mitigate this by reducing costs incurred by their consumers as much as possible.
Financial costs such as service charges negatively affect IU and are particularly associated with a preference for credit card payments rather than m-payments (Cheong et al., 2004).PV ultimately reflects consumers' net evaluation of the required sacrifices and expected benefits of using a product (Kim et al., 2007;Madan & Yadav, 2016).Non-monetary issues affecting PV include general usability issues like the reliability of a system (i.e., low error occurrence; reliable connectivity and speed, accessibility, and performance; and data security).Accordingly, the paper expected that the cost-benefit analysis undertaken by consumers would be instrumental in their attitudes towards using m-wallets.
The perceived security and privacy (PSP) is the extent to which the user perceives that their use of the system will not expose them to insecurity and threats, which fundamentally affects BI ( Security is an important factor in itself, and it is affected by ancillary socio-economic and cultural factors, such as news stories undermining e-banking's perceived trustworthiness, whereby banks need to respond efficiently to adverse events in order to restore customer trust.This entails continuous enhancement of security and communication of the security of services, to enhance users' perceptions of e-banking services as secured and private systems (Anouze & Alamro, 2020), which directly addresses financial aspects like the beliefs about the security of a specific payment procedure within the system (Khalilzadeh et al., 2017).
Anouze and Alamro (2020) reported that not trusting financial transactions on the Internet is the underlying reason for low BI for e-banking services among Jordanians.This may be condi-tioned by government controls over the Internet and regional political considerations.The paper anticipated that Jordanian participants who perceive that m-wallets maintain their privacy and secure their transactions will be predisposed to usage.
Social  2018).The paper expected that Jordanian participants will follow their peers who use m-wallets, and hence have higher usage.
The attractiveness of alternatives (ATALT) is about alternative products and services in the market and how attractive they are to target consumers (Amoroso & Magnier-Watanabe, 2012).Cheong et al. (2004) found that attractive alternatives in the marketplace will negatively affect m-payment adoption and switching from using credit card payments.In the case of Japan, Amoroso and Magnier-Watanabe (2012) found that as stores in train stations accepted only m-payment systems and not credit cards, this obliged users to preferably use m-payment and leave other less attractive alternatives.The paper expected that if Jordanian participants do not have attractive alternatives to m-wallets, they would have higher usage.
This study aims to investigate the adoption of mobile wallet (m-wallet) services by Jordanian consumers, focusing on factors such as perceived ease of use (PEoU), perceived usefulness (PU), attitude towards using m-wallet, facilitating conditions (FC), perceived value (PV), perceived security and privacy (PSP), social influence (SI), and the attrac-tiveness of alternatives (ATALT).The hypotheses guide the research, suggesting that PEoU, PU, attitude, FC, PV, PSP, SI, and ATALT significantly impact Jordanian consumers' m-wallet behavioral intention (BI).
By utilizing the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) as a theoretical foundation and integrating various models, this study aims to contribute valuable insights into the dynamics of m-wallet adoption in Jordan, specifically examining the proposed hypotheses and their implications for advancing digital payment systems in the Jordan and other similar countries in the region or worldwide.
Hence, according to the literature, the paper puts forward the following hypotheses:   The initial segment of the questionnaire focused on collecting demographic information, encompassing inquiries about users' age, gender, and education level.Detailed questions, along with their respective constructs, are available in Appendix A.

METHODS
To ensure content validity and precision in question-wording, the questionnaire underwent a rigorous revision process, benefiting from the insights of 17 experts, including managers from research and development departments, experts, and IT officers within the banking and fintech sectors.This approach aligns with the methodology employed by Venkatesh et al. (2003).The questionnaire, initially crafted in English, was then translated into Arabic to enhance respondent comprehension.Before widespread distribution, a pilot test involving 50 m-wallet users was conducted to assess the questionnaire's acceptance, scalability, reliability, and validity of the proposed behavioral scales.Following this pilot phase, the questionnaire underwent verification, editing, and finalization.

Data collection
The research team participated in collaborative discussions with key decision-makers from the eight fintech companies in Jordan providing m-wallet services.During these meetings, the team outlined the essential cooperation needed for the distribution of an online questionnaire linked to the companies' active clients.This strategic approach aimed to guarantee that the participants who responded to the questionnaire were authentic users of m-wallets, thereby avoiding any potential confusion with users of other mobile applications.
Following negotiations with personnel from each fintech company, an agreement was reached regarding the questionnaire's distribution mecha-nism, aligned with the respective policies and regulations of each company.A Google Form questionnaire link was subsequently disseminated through the eight companies to their clients, ensuring strict adherence to data privacy and confidentiality protocols.Participants were informed of the suggested maximum completion time of 15 minutes.The questionnaire targeted individuals utilizing m-wallet services provided by fintech companies operating in Jordan during the period between January and March 2022.A total of 421 valid responses were collected and utilized for the study.

Measurement model analysis
This study employs Partial Least Square-Structure Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) for data analysis, a method known for its capability to delineate relationships between independent and dependent variables.Recognized for its predictive accuracy, PLS-SEM is adaptable to studying diverse phenomena, whether complex or straightforward, even with a small sample size (Chin, 1998).Notably suitable for non-normally distributed data (Boßow-Thies & Albers, 2010), PLS analysis involves both measurement and structural models.The measurement model evaluates the construct validity of the proposed model in terms of convergent and discriminant validity, while the structural model assesses hypotheses through the examination of path coefficients and their significance.Hair et al. (2010) introduced three criteria to evaluate convergent validity, gauging the compatibility of items measuring the same concept: factor loadings, composite reliability, and average variance extracted (AVE).Utilizing the PLS algorithm function in Smart PLS 3, the results are presented in Table 1.Notably, the outer loading values for each construct item surpass the 0.70 cut-off, meeting satisfactory standards.High outer loadings indicate a significant commonality among associated indicators captured by the construct.
Reliability testing was undertaken using Cronbach's alpha coefficient and composite reliability (CR).The Cronbach's alpha values for each construct item exceed the cut-off of 0.70, indicathttp://dx.doi.org/10.21511/imfi.21(2).2024.07ing higher levels of reliability.This result indicates that there is a high internal consistency among the variables, and they are reliable measures.The CR values exceed the cut-off of 0.70, which is the threshold for satisfaction, indicating that the studied variables have sufficient internal consistency and are suitable to measure the phenomena of interest.The AVE values for each factor exceed the cut-off of 0.5, indicating that the constructs (variables) are highly correlated to the items (factors).Thus, the reliability is internally consistent.
The final measurement is the discriminant validity, which examines the relationships between the latent variables using a popular technique called the Fornell-Larker criterion.The results shown in Table 2 indicate that the value of each construct's square roots of AVE exceeds the correlation coefficient of any other construct in the model, which indicates the presence of discriminant validity.All the results have confirmed that the construct measure is reliable and valid; therefore, the paper can transfer to the next step, the structural model analysis.

RESULTS
Table 3 displays the demographic characteristics of the sample.41% of the respondents were females.The largest cohort (45.9%) was aged 18-27 years, while the smallest (12.3%) was aged 48-57.Almost half (49.2%) were undergraduates., to analyze the relevance of constructs in explaining selected endogenous constructs; effect size (f 2 ), to evaluate if the omitted construct has a substantive impact on the endogenous construct; predictive relevance (Q2); and goodness of fit (GOF).

DISCUSSION
H1 examined the potential role of ease of use as a motivating factor behind the adoption of mwallets.Outcomes substantiated the formulated hypothesis, aligning with the majority of prior ).The outcomes indicated a clear consensus among users of m-wallets, with a firm belief that the perceived benefits and merits associated with their usage significantly influenced their decision to adopt and employ m-wallet services.
H3 investigated the influence of positive attitudes towards the usage of m-wallets in society as a motivating factor.The results strongly supported the hypothesis, which aligns with the findings of previous studies (Amoroso & Magnier-Watanabe, 2012; Khalilzadeh et al., 2017).The findings indicated a clear consensus among m-wallet users, highlighting their firm belief that positive attitudes towards m-wallets played a significant role in encouraging their adoption and usage.
H4 explored the impact of facilitating conditions on the adoption of m-wallets, and the findings yielded substantial evidence in support of the formulated hypothesis, corroborating the results reported in prior research (Anouze & Alamro, 2020).The outcomes of the analysis indicated a widespread consensus among m-wallet users, who firmly believe that facilitating conditions significantly contributes to the motivation and acceptance of m-wallet adoption.
H5 investigated whether m-wallet users perceive the benefits of using m-wallets to outweigh the associated costs.H8 investigated whether m-wallet users perceive the distinctiveness and exclusive services offered by their chosen provider as a significant factor in adopting m-wallets.The findings strongly supported the hypothesis, aligning with Kaur et al.
(2020).The results indicated a clear consensus among wallet users, indicating their belief that the unique advantages and services provided, which are not readily available from competitors, served as a motivating factor for their adoption and usage of m-wallets.
The findings support all the study hypotheses, indicating varying levels of impact among the variables examined.Three variables (PU, PEoU, and FC) had a high effect, while three variables (PV, PSP, and SI) had a moderate effect on the adoption of m-wallets.Two variables (ATALT and ATTD) had a low effect.This emphasizes the significance of perceived usefulness, ease of use, and facilitating conditions in driving m-wallet adoption.

CONCLUSION
The study successfully constructed a robust model, ensuring good reliability and validity of the construct measures employed.The goodness-of-fit (GOF) model indicated the validity of the model for further analysis.Notably, all variables included in the study exhibited a statistically significant positive impact on the intention to use m-wallets, emphasizing the significance of understanding consumer intentions in the adoption of mobile wallet services.
The major findings revealed a positive impact of perceived usefulness, ease of use, and facilitating conditions on user decisions, with significant R-square values of 0.78%, 75.8%, and 68.4%, respectively.Additionally, perceived value, security, privacy, and social influence demonstrated a moderate effect, while the attractiveness of alternatives and attitudes towards m-wallet usage showed lesser impact.
This study enriches the existing body of knowledge on mobile commerce in developing economies, particularly in Jordan, offering a detailed model that contributes valuable insights for the advancement of digital payment systems.The identified factors m-wallet adoption provide a foundation for addressing challenges and promoting financial inclusion in Jordan.
The slow adoption of mobile payments in Jordan, characterized by a preference for cash and security skepticism, poses a significant challenge that hinders the transformative potential of digital financial services.Despite efforts by the Central Bank, including the establishment of the Jordanian Company for Payment and Clearing System, this study underscores the importance of exploring and understanding factors influencing m-wallet adoption.The focus on insights from fintech companies provides a unique perspective, offering valuable insights to enhance digital financial inclusion in the country.This study contributes to the broader understanding of technology adoption dynamics in emerging economies, offering practical implications for policymakers, financial institutions, and fintech companies in promoting m-wallet adoption and advancing digital payment systems.
Amoroso & Magnier-Watanabe, 2012; Anouze & Alamro, 2020).Security and trust are important in users' IU for new mobile-based technologies like m-wallets (Shin, 2009), m-banking (Luo et al., 2010), and e-banking (Anouze & Alamro, 2020).Users may perceive security and risk in terms of threats to their financial, social, psychological, physical, or time dimensions; the degree of that security or risk will affect their IU for m-payments (De Sena Abrahão et al., 2016).

BI1 I advise others
to deal with m-wallets Anouze and Alamro (2020), Kaur et al. (2020) BI2 I feel very comfortable using m-wallets BI3 I had little problems when I used m-wallets BI4 Employees treat kindness and helpfulness while providing the service Perceived usefulness PU PU1 using an m-wallet would be more convenient when making purchases Anouze and Alamro (2020) PU2 My choice for this service is to avoid congestion in banks PU3 using an m-wallet is compatible with all aspects of my life style PU4 I think m-wallet is very useful to meet my different needs Perceived ease of use PEoU PEoUl One of the advantages of using an m-wallet is its ease of use and speed in implementation Kaur et al. (2020) PEoU2 I don't need help to use the services provided by m-wallets, whether from the service provider or a friend Venkatesh et al. (2003), Anouze and Alamro (2020) Attitude toward using AT TD AT TD1 I think that using m-Wallets is a good idea Anouze and Alamro (2020) AT TD2 I like to try everything new, so I was the first user of this service Social influence SI Sil For religious reasons, I don't want to deal with commercial banks and I think m-wallets are a good alternative Alalwan et al. (2017) SI2 Most people around me use m-wallets, so I find it necessary to be one of them Sigli et al. (2020) Perceived security and privacy PSP PSP1 the financial transaction are safe through the m-wallets Pal et al. (2021) PSP2 The main reason for using m-wallet is a security and confidentiality Attractiveness of alternatives ATALT ATALT1 I think using m-wallets is better than other payment methods such as the Internet or cash Cheong et al. (2004) ATALT2 M-wallets offer services that are not provided by commercial banks Amoroso and Magnier-Watanabe (2012) Perceived value PV PV1 Commissions and fees were determine before using m-wallets Anouze and Alamro (2020) PV2 Before using m-wallet, I got enough information regarding how the electronic application of the wallet was used by the provider Pal et al. (2021) PV3 Before using e-wallet, I got enough and clear information about the contracts and terms of dealing PV4 Before using m-wallet, I obtained sufficient information regarding the services provided by the provider Facilitating conditions FC FC1 The main reason for using m-wallet is the availability of many agents and centers everywhere that provide this service Anouze and Alamro (2020) FC2 The quality and speed of the Internet is suitable for dealing with m-wallets Alalwan et al. (2017) FC3 my wallet is accepted as a mean of payment in all the places I frequent Khalilzadeh et al. (2017) FC4 I have all the necessary requirements to use the -wallet such as smartphone and internet

Table 1 .
Measurement model results Note: CR is composite reliability, AVE is average variance extracted.

Table 4 .
Hypothesis testing results

Table 5 .
F square results