Financial Literacy, Behavioral Control, and Intention in Digital Payment Adoption: A Theory of Planned Behavior Perspective

Abstract

The growth of digital payments highlights the need to understand the factors influencing usage behavior. This study aims to analyze the impact of financial literacy, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control on the intention and behavior regarding digital payment usage, as well as to examine the mediating role of intention based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). A quantitative approach with a cross-sectional survey design was employed, involving 149 respondents in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS 4, utilizing a bootstrapping procedure with 5,000 resamples. The results indicate that financial literacy, perceived behavioral control, and intention have a positive and significant effect on digital payment usage behavior, whereas subjective norms do not have a direct significant effect. Financial literacy does not significantly influence intention, while subjective norms and perceived behavioral control have a positive and significant impact on intention. Mediation analysis reveals that intention does not mediate the effect of financial literacy on digital payment usage behavior but does mediate the effects of subjective norms and perceived behavioral control on such behavior. These findings demonstrate that intention plays a distinct mediating role for each antecedent factor and reinforce the relevance of the TPB in explaining digital payment adoption.