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This chapter reviews developments concerning central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). It introduces, analyzes, and discusses the potential implications of CBDCs on the existing cryptoassets landscape. The chapter also provides an overview of the different approaches to adopting and implementing this new form of money. Additionally, it compares traditional cryptocurrencies, privately issued stablecoins, fiat currencies, and CBDCs. Although vastly divergent opinions exist on digital money’s purpose, benefits, and use cases, CBDCs can provide opportunities for innovation and experimentation at a central bank and systemic level. CBDCs may pave the way for democratizing access to unbundled financial services while rethinking the overall purpose of money, monetary systems, and global business.

This study aims to investigate the entrance of Chinese-based Alipay’s mobile-payment (m-payment) technology into Malaysia. Malaysia allowed this entry of the first foreign m-payment company because it would allow Chinese tourists spending while they are visiting Malaysia. It will view this entrance from a Malaysian perspective.

The views of Malaysian players (Bank Negara Malaysia officers, three Malaysian banks’ officers, Alipay-Malaysia officers, airport section manager, convenience store manager and airport store sales executive) were sought via qualitative interview concerning Alipay’s entry into the Malaysian market. Respondents who had relevant knowledge and/or were involved in Alipay m-payment technology development in Malaysia were contacted, while there remainder were obtained by snowballing. Secondary data was collected from Bank Negara Malaysia’s policy, three Malaysian banks’ reports, the Alipay-Malaysia public statements and the Airport and Convenience Store reports. Triangulation using primary and secondary data was used to safeguard the validity and reliability of the outcomes.

The entry strategy used by Alipay was different from those reported in previous studies. The establishment of Alipay-Malaysia was the first element of the “mode of entry” gaining pioneer status in Malaysia. The next stage was gaining support from Bank Negara Malaysia-Malaysian Central Bank and three Malaysian banks (Maybank, Public Bank and CIMB) through collaborative ventures with Alipay-Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., leading to acceptance nationwide by local merchants. The key driver of acceptance being Chinese outbound tourists in Malaysia.

This case study was conducted during the early implementation of Alipay in Malaysia from 2015 until April 2019. During this period, there were challenges due to the lack of primary data. These were overcome by the support from the respondents and the secondary data.

This study contributes to insights from a different entry strategy that used tourism as a leading force. This can give guidance to other m-payment service providers or other countries as m-payment technology recipient about “market entry strategy” and “modes of entry” following Alipay’s approach.

To date, no study has been conducted to investigate the nature of Alipay m-payment in Malaysia. This qualitative study has examined the new phenomenon regarding how Alipay entered the Malaysian market. Moreover, this study can also contribute new insights into the existing theory of “market entry strategy” in terms of Alipay’s tourist-based approach.

COVID-19 and its measures such as physical distancing have shifted consumer payment behaviors toward cashless payment. Physical distancing is likely to remain a norm for some time to come and will be relevant in any future pandemics. This study aims to examine the impact of consumers’ perceived value of cashless payment on their use intention in the physical distancing context, with the mediating role of psychological safety and the moderating role of trust propensity.

This study used a survey method to obtain data from 690 consumers in an Asian emerging market, i.e. Vietnam. The data were analyzed using different statistical methods, including structural equation modeling.

Results show that perceived value of cashless payment positively affects use intention, and this effect is mediated by psychological safety. Furthermore, trust propensity has a positive moderating effect on the link between perceived value and psychological safety.

This study’s findings provide implications for retailers and other stakeholders in implementing and promoting cashless payment systems, especially in the physical distancing context.

This study is among the first attempt to explain the relationships between consumers’ perceptions, feelings of psychological safety and use intention toward cashless payment in the physical distancing context. The study’s findings may also be relevant to any future pandemics.

Service providers have a vested interest in enhancing adoption of technologies that improve the customer service experience. Buoyed by this idea, this paper aims to explore Latin American consumers’ mobile payment (MP) adoption, conceptualized as bank-sponsored mobile wallets that facilitate payment at the point-of-purchase. This paper applies a revised unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) model as theoretical framework for this exploration.

To test the conceptual model of MP adoption in Latin America put forward in this paper, the authors used Colombia as a sample site and conducted two studies among a sample of consumers in this country. Completed questionnaires from 186 participants (Study 1) and 398 participants (Study 2) were used in data analyses, which were conducted using Mplus 8.4 and PROCESS.

In Study 1, performance expectancy, social influence, bank trust, confidence in MP system and consumer innovativeness all impact consumers’ MP use intention; and use intention impacts MP behavior. In Study 2, involving a wider sample, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, perceived quality of the MP system, bank trust, consumer innovativeness, consumer optimism and consumer insecurity all affect MP use intention; and use intention significantly impacts MP behavior. Across both studies, follow-up analysis showed that effort expectancy influences performance expectancy for MP and indirectly influences MP use intention through its impact on performance expectancy. Bank trust also indirectly affects MP use intention through its effects on system confidence. In Study 2, age did not affect MP use intention or MP use; however, education affected MP use.

The theoretical underpinning for the conceptual model was the UTAUT2, and the results across the two studies support previous research in which this revised model has been useful in explaining technology adoption. Core elements of the UTAUT2 such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions and social influence had different impact on MP adoption in Latin America, depending on the sample. Technology readiness index motivators and inhibitors also aid understanding of MP adoption.

The research provides insights on the variables that members of the MP ecosystem in Latin America (e.g. banks and other service providers, card issuers) need to address in getting Latin American consumers to use MP.

This research extends the exploration of MP to a region of the world that has not been the focus of prior studies on the adoption of this technology and responds to calls by some researchers to increase research in this region. The conceptual models in the two studies also incorporate trust in the banks that are part of the MP ecosystem in Latin America and consumer overall confidence in this MP ecosystem. The results show that both these factors are influential in Latin American consumers’ adoption of MP. System confidence also mediates the relationship between bank trust and MP use intention.

The purpose of this study is to examine how mindfulness reduces consumers’ buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) payment scheme usage and how that relates to their overall well-being.

This study uses partial least squares structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses of a conceptual framework which is rooted in the extant literature, using an approximately representative sample of Australian consumers (N = 275).

This study finds empirical evidence for the ability of mindfulness to reduce BNPL usage through increasing consumers’ financial self-control and decreasing their impulse buying tendency. This study also obtains empirical evidence that greater BNPL usage is associated with lower subjective evaluations of consumers’ overall well-being by increasing their current money management stress and decreasing their expected future financial security.

Future research could build on the effect of mindfulness that the authors find in this study and how it could be leveraged as a protective mechanism for consumers’ financial decision-making. Such research could involve mindfulness-based interventions, such as instant messaging within smartphone applications. Doing so would also help assess causality, thus addressing the limitation of the cross-sectional nature of this study.

The findings have implications for public policymakers and business practitioners. Financial counselors are encouraged to include the measurement of personality traits such as impulse buying tendency and financial self-control in intake meetings with clients and consider the benefits of offering short mindfulness training. Given the negative effect of BNPL usage on consumers’ financial and overall well-being, and the reputational risks this implies, BNPL providers are recommended to take more responsibility to ensure consumers do not fall into a debt trap, while retailers are advised to take steps to make payment processes more “mindful.”

Although mindfulness has established effects on consumer behavior, its beneficial influence on consumer financial decision-making has rarely been explored. This study also contributes to a better understanding of the antecedents and consequences of consumers’ BNPL payment scheme usage. Although its prominence is increasing in daily life, and despite the concerns of consumer advocates, policymakers and regulators regarding its risks, the topic of consumers’ BNPL usage has received little attention in academic research so far. Finally, this study extends the emerging financial well-being literature by demonstrating how BNPL usage can reduce consumers’ overall well-being through the mediating effect of increasing current money management stress and decreasing expected future financial security.

One reason for the slow adoption rate of Electronic Fund Transfer at Point‐of‐Sale (EFTPoS) is that consumers perceive that EFTPoS has a higher level of risk than other traditional payment methods. Makes use of a concept in consumer behaviour and perceived risk to study the differences of consumers′ risk perceptions among alternative payment methods and whether these perceptions will be affected by the size of purchase and EFTPoS usage experience. The major findings are: (1) EFTPoS has the lowest physical risk and highest financial risk, the credit card has the lowest psychological risk and highest time loss risk, while cash has the highest physical risk and lowest performance risk; (2) Physical risk, financial risk and time loss risk for cash payment are significantly higher when the purchase is large, while performance risk for EFTPoS and credit card payment is significantly higher when the purchase is small; and (3) users of EFTPoS have a significantly higher level of perceived financial and time loss risk than non‐users, while non‐users have higher level of psychological risk. The overall finding is that the risk profile of EFTPoS is similar to that of the credit card but significantly different from cash.

As it gains more popularity, e-wallets drive its users to spend more. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore how and why e-wallets may encourage excessive spending behavior among young adult consumers.

An exploratory sequential or QUAL-QUANT design, combining qualitative and quantitative, is used in this study. It is a type of mixed-method design consisting of both the core and supplementary methods. The qualitative method is conducted in Study 1 using online focus group discussion to answer “why” and “how” questions, whereas the quantitative method is used in Study 2 to test or examine the hypothetical model. The questionnaires are extracted from focus group discussion in Study 1, which is further tested for validity and reliability and model estimation in Study 2. The model is evaluated using structural equation modeling.

Study 1 extracted four keywords to affect young adults spending behavior, easiness, promotions, self-control and perception of having more money (the illusion of liquidity). In Study 2, it is found that those four variables significantly affect spending behavior. Interestingly, it is also found in Study 2 that the illusion of liquidity mediates the relationship between self-control and spending behavior.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, where a physical meeting is not encouraged, focus group discussion is conducted online via Zoom. Perhaps, this condition can be one limitation this study faced.

This study offers a theoretical contribution to the literature by exploring how and why e-wallet payment is connected to excessive spending behavior among young adult consumers. This study also provides a model that further explains the relationship between young adults’ spending behavior by adding the illusion of liquidity as the mediating variable.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the regulatory framework of e-money transactions in terms of consumer protection approach, the base for regulatory and supervisory system.

This research is based on descriptive-qualitative studies in electronic and cyber commerce. The authors have first explained the importance of regulation for consumer protection and have then showed the position of regulation in e-money; thus, the authors have noted two important and predominant concepts of consumer protection: safe arrangement in e-money and problem of information secrecy and asymmetry. The leading approach in this paper is for efficient allocation of resources between dealers and player of this scope and the authors find consumer protection as the best regulation instrument in this way.

The paper argues that e-money is an efficient and user-friendly payment system and might be used as a general means of payment in the real and virtual worlds. This finding provides a major reason for regulatory frameworks in e-money.

Some important regulation applications in this new scope of commerce involve indirect interference and making orders in transactions. In this paper, the authors have focused on consumer protection regulation that may have a positive effect on dealers, businessmen and women in the long run; thus, this approach also compares other studies within the scope of e-money.