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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This paper aims to provide an overview of research topics and publications produced by Islamic Finance scholars in Malaysia, focusing on six research domains (Shariah-based, Islamic Finance, Islamic Economics, Islamic Accounting, Islamic Management and Halal Management) in five public universities in Malaysia.

This study seeks to analyse the research gaps and recommend future research based on publications produced by Islamic Finance scholars from five public universities in Malaysia. Data on talents were collected from the MIFER report 2016 and each universities’ website, while research and publications of the talents were collected from Google Scholar and the Scopus database. The extracted data were analysed using bibliometric analysis in VOSviewer version 1.6.15.

The results show that the five selected universities talents have different research strengths according to six research domains highlighted in MIFER 2021 and Beyond Report. All five universities are found to contribute the least research in Halal Management domain. In view of the increasing prominence of this area of research in the national and international levels, these universities and other universities in Malaysia can generate more research in Halal Economy, Halal Management, and other related areas within this domain. The finding indicated that each university tends to have a strength according to the different domains, and 2019 is the most productive year for Islamic Finance publications. Analysis from productive scholars and co-citations shows that the authors collaborate within the same university to create a different topic for each research cluster.

The bibliometric analysis only captures the general keyword terms, which may be limited to the only generalised sub-research areas.

This bibliometric study, which is based on the expertise of researchers, complements meta-analysis, and qualitative structured literature reviews aid researchers or talents in developing future research directions such as Green economy, Cryptocurrency, Fintech, Halal Management and others. In addition, this is a case study in nature and can serve to enhance understanding the landscape of Islamic finance education and as a reference for practices in institutions of higher learning from around the world.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is a new research initiative comparing five top programme providers in the field of Islamic finance using a bibliometric approach to enhance talent development and capacity building. With the government’s efforts to further promote Malaysia as the Islamic Financial Hub, this study highlights the research gap in Islamic finance based on scholars’ publications from selected five Malaysian universities and potential topics for future research. This study focuses on the research domain for each university, the trend of publishing, the number of journals published by academics, productive scholars and citations by Malaysian universities, and examines if the publications align with current industry needs.