FinTech Acceptance Research in Finland – Case Company Plastc Master ’ s Thesis

This research was designed to explore the major factors affecting the acceptance of the all-in-one payment method (Plastc Card) in Finland. The primary purpose was to find out possible variables which affect users’ adoption rate in terms of the unique features of FinTech products, the second purpose was to propose a conceptual research model based on consumer acceptance theories from information system field, and the third purpose was to provide practical suggestions for the case company Plastc and similar FinTech start-ups according to the research results. Four principal theoretical models well-aligned to the special characteristics of FinTech were elaborated and employed: Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Motivational Model (MM), the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), and Adoption of Risky Technologies (ART). Based on the theoretical models and the relevant studies conducted in Finland, nine possible variables were chosen to examine the relationships with users’ behaviour intention and a conceptual research model was proposed. In order to provide practical suggestions for the case company Plastc and FinTech start-ups, the research framework was built in three different contexts: 1) Technological context, refers to the characteristics of the technology itself, focuses on the inherent features of the product or service, includes Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and Price Value. 2) Individual context, individual users are grouped into different customer segments with the variables of Personal Innovativeness, Social Influence and Perceived Need of Minimalism. 3) Motivational context, focuses on the incentives of users’ behaviour intention that can stimulate users’ adoption intention. Variables are Perceived Enjoyments, Security Concerns, and Perceived Information. Based on the proposed conceptual model, a questionnaire was developed to investigate the hypothetical relationships between the latent variables. A sample data of 117 respondents from Finland was collected. The statistical techniques Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were used to evaluate the measurement model, and Structural Equation Model (SEM) was employed to measure the structure model and test the hypotheses. The results further validated many variables in a new domain (FinTech) and supported the past studies that Personal Innovativeness, Perceived Enjoyment, Security Concerns, Perceived Usefulness, and Price Value have a direct influence on users’ behavior intention. Results of other variables: 1) Perceived Enjoyment mainly affected the decision to start the use and Perceived Usefulness mainly affected the decision for how long will users actually use it. 2) The new variable Perceived Need of Minimalism was found to have a positive effect on Perceived Enjoyment and hence indirectly influenced the behavior intention. 3) The amount of information didn’t show significant influence on behavior intention, instead, the more information the users attained, the fewer security concerns will they feel. As such, the information played an indirect role in affecting users’ intentions by affecting security concerns. 4) With gained experience, the impact of Perceived Ease of Use and Social Influence tended to be weaker than in the initial stage.