Drivers of Continuous Usage: A Consumer Perspective on Mobile Payment Service Ecosystems

Mobile payment is among the most exciting and fastest developing types of financial services. Contingent on a service ecosystem that includes users, technology, and service providers, mobile payment has the potential to reshape brick-and-mortar retail environments. Yet existing initiatives have not achieved large-scale market success. In this chapter, we argue that the growth of mobile payment service ecosystems depends on how actual users perceive the actors within them. Building on the people–objects–physical world (POP) framework, we examine influences on mobile payment continuance, including how users perceive themselves (i.e., people), the enabling technology (i.e., objects), and the supporting service providers (i.e., physical world). Drawing on real-world data describing a mobile payment rollout, we find that self-efficacy, mobile payment application availability, and perceptions of privacy positively influence users’ intentions to continue using mobile payment and spread positive word of mouth (WOM) about it. Whether users exercise control over the payment can have negative influences on continuance outcomes. If users perceive that stores supporting mobile payment fit their purchasing needs, they are more likely to engage in positive WOM. These results prompt some managerial recommendations for different actors in the mobile payment service ecosystem (e.g., financial institutions, brick-and-mortar stores). But the main takeaway of this chapter is that for mobile payment to take off, it is necessary to consider the user perspective on actors in the service ecosystem, including both non-contextual and contextual influencers.