Two academics, namely Assoc Prof Dr Lee Voon Hsien and Loh Xiu Ming, from the Faculty of Business and Finance (FBF) won the “Best Paper Award” at the International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Intelligent Systems (ICETIS) 2021, held virtually from 25 to 26 June 2021. The ICETIS 2021 served as a platform for researchers from both academia and industry to share their latest research contributions and exchange knowledge with the common goal of shaping the future of Emerging Technologies and Intelligent Systems. It was devoted to increase the understanding and impact of Emerging Technologies (Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, Blockchain, Robotics, Educational Technologies, Knowledge Management, Social Media, etc.) on individuals, organisations, and society and how Intelligent Systems have recently evolved. The virtual conference was jointly organised by The British University in Dubai, Dijlah University, Al-Maaref University College, Newgiza University, Technological Solutions, Optomatica, GOAXIA, and University College Tati.

Out of 134 papers submitted to the international conference, their research titled “Factors Affecting Customers’ Intention to use Mobile Payment Services in the Retailing Industry” was selected for the award under the category of “Advances in Information Systems”.

“The main factor that contributed to this award is attributed to the prevalent relevance of the research’s subject matter. This is because the use of mobile payment in the retailing industry is becoming more and more prominent. Moreover, effective teamwork also played a significant role because the team that carried out this research not only had diverse knowledge and skillsets, but were also able to work synergistically with each other. Therefore, we felt proud, happy, and overjoyed when we learned that we had won this award. This award serves as recognition for a job well done as well as justification for the hard work that has been put into this research. It not only makes us feel good, but it also gives us credibility on a global stage and hopefully opens doors to new opportunities,” enthused the FBF academics.

The research was co-authored with UCSI MBA alumnus Yang Jin, and UCSI academics Assoc Prof Dr Garry Tan Wei Han and Prof Ts Dr Ooi Keng Boon. It aimed to study the variables that impact Malaysian customers’ intentions to adopt mobile payment services in the retailing industry. This is because mobile payment services have become more and more popular in recent years. However, the use of mobile payment services in Malaysia is still lagging when compared with other economies. To achieve this objective, the researchers developed a research model by integrating the Information System Success Model and Trust Transfer Theory. An online survey was conducted that yielded 359 usable responses for this study which was subsequently analysed using PLS-SEM. The results showed that customer satisfaction and trust in mobile payment have a significant relationship with the intention to adopt mobile payment services in the retailing industry. From the results of this study, there were several insights proposed to retailers, mobile payment technology companies, and mobile payment application developers. In addition, this study fills the theoretical gap of comprehending the main antecedents influencing customers' intention to adopt mobile payment services in the retailing industry via an integrated model.

“This research was carried out in view of the expectations that mobile payment will play a pivotal role in the Covid-19 pandemic. Not only that, the focus of the research was narrowed down to the retailing industry. This is because of the large volume of transactions that occurs in this sector on a daily basis. As such, the purpose of this study was to look into the antecedents that influence Malaysian customers’ intention to adopt mobile payment services in the retailing industry,” explained Dr Lee.

Loh also added, “This research successfully determined that satisfaction and trust are key antecedents of mobile payment adoption. In particular, customers’ satisfaction was based on the mobile payment’s ability to provide accurate information, reliable system, and good service. In addition, this research was able to prove the presence of the trust transference process in the context of mobile payment adoption. In other words, customers who trust online payment have a higher propensity to trust mobile payment. In view of the above-mentioned, stakeholders in the retailing and financial sectors that are developing their competitive strategy around mobile payment can greatly benefit from the insights of this study.”

In relation to the current pandemic, the researchers also explained that the contactless and remote nature of mobile payment can help to minimise the possibility of Covid-19 virus transmission. Apart from that, the research also yields a sustainable impact as it is related to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9 which is on “Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure”. "As society has grown accustomed to digital services, it has also affected by the way in which people make payments. People want their financial transactions to be quick and convenient. Moreover, cashless payment methods reached an inflection point due to consumers’ digital behaviours during the pandemic. As such, this has set the stage for future growth of digital payments,” explained the FBF academics.