Fintech has recently been considered as one of the most effective banking transaction methods due to technological advancement in the finance industry (Carlson 2015). Because it has numerous favourable advantages which traditional banking channels cannot offer. Thus, banking management aims to capitalize on the advantages of Fintech to increase Fintech consumer adoption rate and in turn reduce administrative costs (Liu et al. 2012). In online banking studies, Lee (2008) noted that there are two principals of perceived benefits on online banking usage, which can be classified as direct and indirect advantages. Direct advantages refer to the tangible benefits that customers would appreciate by utilizing online banking. For example, clients can benefit from a wide range of financial benefits, faster transaction processing and transaction transparency.
Whereas, indirect advantages are those benefits that are less substantial and hard to measure. For example, online banking allows clients to perform banking transactions anywhere in the world and get 24-hour service.
Perceived benefits have been broadly utilized as an immediate determinant of consumer continuous intentions (Kim et al. 2008; Lee, Park & Kim 2013; Melewar et al. 2013). Ryu (2018) described perceived benefit as "a client’s impression of the potential that Fintech use will result in a positive outcome". Most studies have indicated that the higher perceived benefit, the more there is a positive influence on users’ intention to use IT services in a wide range of applications (Abramova & Böhme 2016; Benlian and Hess 2011; Farivar & Yuan 2014; Lee, Park & Kim 2013;
Lee, 2009; Lee, Chae & Cho 2013). A Fintech study revealed that perceived benefit can significantly influence the usage of Fintech (Ryu 2018). Also, Abramova and Böhme (2016) asserted the impact of perceived benefit on consumer use of Bitcoin.
User’s motivations of purchase have been classified into intrinsic, extrinsic and consumer attitude factors that predict consumer purchasing process (Davis et al. 1992; Jaffar, Lalp & Naba 2012).
According to Jaffar, Lalp and Naba (2012) consumer purchase intention is influenced by multi- dimensional factors; however, perceived value, price and quality were the most important factors for consumer online usage of a product or service. Extrinsic motivation refers to the outcome that will result from doing a task to achieve a particular goal (like, reward), while intrinsic motivation refers to the interest and enjoyment in the task itself (Davis et al. 1989). Both of the factors were used in banking, e-commerce and information sharing literature. However, this study focused on the extrinsic motivating factors to better explain perceived benefit factors on Fintech because users use Fintech for the utilitarian benefit and not for their hedonic benefits (Ryu 2018). Accordingly, this study uses four extrinsic motivation factors based on utilitarian values as the benefit components of using Fintech: Economic benefit, convenience, perceived service quality and seamless transaction processing, the details of these benefits are described below:
1. Economic benefit: is the most widely recognized and reliable extrinsic motivation for Fintech (Kuo-Chuen & Teo 2015). With regard to Fintech, the financial advantage incorporates cost reduction and financial gains from Fintech transactions. Some Fintech applications (e.g.
mobile settlement or P2P loaning) may propose lower transaction expenses to clients than traditional financial services by directly initiating and concluding transactions without intermediation (Mackenzie 2015). Other Fintech applications (for example P2P loaning, crowdfunding), that for the most part offer services either online or using mobile, may likewise give more significant returns to banks, and lower loan costs to borrowers, than traditional financial systems (Gerber et al. 2012; Lee and Lee 2012).
2. Convenience benefit: it is considered as one of the main extrinsic motivational factors of Fintech to use, which is driven by flexibility and accessibility (Kuo-Chuen & Teo 2015;
Sharma & Gutiérrez 2010). Convenience refers to flexibility in performing the transaction anytime and anywhere (Okazaki & Mendez 2013), and the most significant factor in the accomplishment of online and mobile transactions (Kim et al. 2010). Clients may obtain convenience and productivity of transaction through mobile phones or online without going to the financial institute. Sharma & Gutiérrez (2010) recommended that convenience may be valuable as a legitimate indicator of the utilization of mobile financial services. Given mobile phones as a fundamental channel in Fintech, when contrasted with the traditional financial service provider (Ryun 2018).
3. Perceived service quality: referred to meeting and exceeding customer expectations, being an accessible and reliable source of transaction in financial platforms. In this study, service quality is viewed as the consumer’s overall perceived evaluation and judgment on the quality of the services that are delivered through the internet provided in financial services in terms of
meeting and exceeding user expectations, accessibility and reliability of an application (Parasuraman, Zeithaml & Berry 1988; Keisidou et al. 2013; Amin 2016; Ladhari, Ladhari &
Morales 2011). The importance of service quality in service provider-client relationships has been emphasized in many prior studies (Parasuraman, Zeithmal & Berry 1988; Lee 2009;
Zhang et al. 2018). Also, many recent studies on the functionality aspects of online systems and activities in the service industry were testing the employment of SERVQUAL in banks (Parasuraman, Zeithmal & Berry 1988), hotels and insurance companies (Mbama & Ezepue 2018; Keisidou et al. 2013; Amin el al. 2016), which affects customer experience (Garg et al.
2014).
4. Seamless transaction processing: Ryun (2018) described the seamless transaction as a transaction-related benefit of using Fintech (e.g. purchasing, remittances, lending, and investment). The transaction process measure is a fundamental trait of Fintech transactions that eliminates traditional banking systems through seamless financing processes. It allows clients to manage transactions cost-effectively, resulting in fast and basic financial transactions (Chishti 2016; Zavolokina et al. 2016). Moreover, IT companies can offer new and innovative processes on providing financial products and services to consumers through seamless transactions (e.g. apple/Samsung pay). Thus, these Fintech products and services are reshaping the ecosystems of the financial service industry.
The factors stated above are the perceived benefits are considered in this study model of consumer evaluation of Fintech after the experience of a service in the banking industry.