Understanding Digital Wallet Continuance Intention: An Integrated TAM–ECT Perspective with Trust as a Serial Mediator

Abstract

The rapid expansion of digital payment systems has increased the need to understand the factors that drive continued usage, particularly among small business users such as vendors, petty shop owners, and micro-retailers. Although the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) provides a strong foundation for understanding technology adoption, post-adoption behaviour requires integrating additional constructs such as Trust and Customer Satisfaction. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine how Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness, Trust, and Customer Satisfaction influence Continuance Intention to Use digital payments. Data were collected from 284 business users and analysed using PLS-SEM. The findings reveal that Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness, Trust, and Customer Satisfaction significantly predict continuance intention. Mediation results show that Trust and Customer Satisfaction partially mediate several relationships, while sequential mediation occurs only through the pathway beginning with Perceived Ease of Use. The results also indicate that Perceived Usefulness primarily affects continuance intention directly, without meaningful mediation. The novelty of this research lies in demonstrating that ease of use produces a stronger cognitive–emotional pathway than usefulness in shaping long-term digital payment usage among small business users. These findings offer practical insights for enhancing digital payment design, user experience, and trust-building strategies