Analysis of Preceding Determinants on E-Money Actual Usage in the Philippines: An Integration of TPB and UTAUT2

Research by: Patrick Kyle C. Medina, Ardvin Kester S. Ong, John Francis T. Diaz, Maela Madel L. Cahigas, & Ma. Janice J. Gumasing

Executive Summary

E-money services have swiftly spread throughout emerging and developing countries like the Philippines, offering new opportunities for people and businesses to conduct payments, save, and send remittances. Several developing nations throughout the world have transitioned from paper money to e-money in order to achieve a cashless society, including Indonesia. The country was believed to have begun building a cashless society by increasing online sales by 40% in one year. In addition, there is a rise in e-money transactions for online and in-store transactions. Since the establishment of these e-money platforms, there was an evident increase in its use. E-money usage was only about 2.2 million in 2017, which accounted for 3.51% of the population. The rise doubled the following year, gained more attention in 2019, and skyrocketed to 34.7 million users in 2020. This accounted for approximately 56% of the total population in the country. The widespread recognition of GCash e-money payments has only happened recently, highlighting the slow adoption rate among Filipinos. However, the lack of studies about the consumers’ intention to utilize these services in the Philippines emphasized the significance for the researcher to assess this field.

Despite the available literature about the usage of e-money services in developing countries, the utility of e-money services in the Philippines differs largely, as explained in the preceding discussions. Governments and central banks in other developing countries are pushing their citizens to use e-money platforms to achieve a cashless society, while the use of these platforms in the Philippines is purely voluntary. This study integrated both UTAUT2 and TPB to analyze the determinants and factors for actual use of e-money among Filipinos. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is also used to analyze the factors simultaneously. The result of this study will provide practical and managerial implications for e-money propagation in the Philippines.

E-money organizations or companies may use these factors to further develop their services and attract other potential users. This will increase consumers’ intention to continue utilizing e-money services. As consumers experience the improvement made in terms of costs, interface, and norms, this may persuade others to also use e-money platforms because of the benefits that they will get. Digital payments and cards can eliminate the need for manual intervention and reconciliation, making them three times more cost-effective on average. Electronic money is used by consumers for a range of benefits, such as convenience, usability, speedy transaction times, quicker payment, and simplicity of use. This could benefit entrepreneurs and businesses by streamlining the registration process, allowing online payments through e-money without the need to wait in line, thereby reducing the time required to process payments for licenses and permits. This also enhances supply-chain management and relationships with clients and vendors, as current trends and developments in financial technology are widely adopted by businesses to improve transaction efficiency, promote financial inclusion, and strengthen engagement with stakeholders. This can also increase user satisfaction, as it is a key factor influencing the intention to continue using e-money.

To cite this article: Medina, P. K. C., Ong, A. K. S., Diaz, J. F. T., Cahigas, M. M. L., & Gumasing, M. J. J. (2025). Analysis of preceding determinants on e-money actual usage in the Philippines: An integration of TPB and UTAUT2. IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/22779752251368953

To access the article: https://doi.org/10.1177/22779752251368953

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