Impact of Behavioural Intention on E-Wallet Usage During Covid- 19 Period: A Study from Sri Lanka

In recent years, there is a noticeable increase in cashless transactions due to financial technology development. With the enhancement of fin-tech products like e-wallet, most consumers shift from cashbased transactions to cashless. In particular, locked down Citizens of the country had no other choice than to stay at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka. The social distancing and avoidance of physical touch were the significant measures to escape from the COVID-19 virus. The use of digital transactions and electronic cash transfers was encouraged in every nook and corner of the country. The present empirical study aimed to investigate the significant predictors of behavioral intention on ewallet usage during the COVID-19 period. This study adopted a practical research design to the online survey method to gather e-wallet users' perceptions in the study area by applying an extended technology acceptance model (TAM). The present study follows the quantitative approach to gathering data from 500 respondents using a Google Form. And collected data were analyzed using the regression model. The results indicate that Attitude, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived cost, perceived Risk, and COVID – 19 are the positive and significant predictors of e-wallet usage. In contrast, perceived usefulness, Subjective norms, and facilitating conditions do not significantly influence e-wallet usage. Further, e-wallets usage should be encouraged to avoid unnecessary visits to banks, implement social distancing, avoid physical touch while exchanging cash amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka and create a positive attitude among citizens of the country towards the adoption of a cashless economy. Finally, this study helps the digital marketplace's service providers understand the usefulness of using e-wallet for transaction purposes.


INTRODUCTION
Presently world internet turns the life easier for people. Payments made using smart devices. One of the 21st century's best inventions is electronic wallets (e-wallets), an integral part of the electronic payment system. The term "e-wallet" is a form of a digital wallet that allows an individual to link their debit or credit cards to a digital wallet to make any transactions (Digital Wallet, 2019). Apart from debit or credit cards, electronic cards enable consumers to store their physical card information and bank account number to perform specific actions towards payment (Ray, 2017). It points out that; payments done using an e-wallet is more convenient and faster than conventional banking system as it saves time and money (Blockchains, 2018). The cellular-based payment system widely uses for transactions and payments use mobile applications because consumers consider this method beneficial (Gokilavani, 2018).
The use of an e-wallet provides small-scale transactions which are easy to operate (Punwatkar, 2018).
The enhancement of e-payment systems makes consumers shift from cash-based transactions to cashless (Yaokumah, Kumah & Okai, 2017). The most technological change witness and globalization have brought them different perceptions and attitudes than previous generations (Cobanoglu, 2015).
Generation Z grew up with technology and the internet, and they regard it as I generation (Mohammed, 2018). Many people currently access smart technology because it contains new applications, ease of use, security, and privacy options (Wood, 2013). The behavioral intention to use the e-wallet payment method is a dependent variable, and its use by referred theories such as TAM, TPB, and UTAUT. And TAM, TPB, UTAUT are also used by researcher to identify determinants of behavioral intention to predict why people are willing to make a decision (Momani, A. & Jamous, M., 2017;Venkatesh, 2003).
The social distancing and avoidance of physical touch were the significant measures to escape from the Coronavirus. Digital transactions and electronic cash transfers encourage in every nook and corner of the country.
Many country's Government support this e-wallets innovation, especially during the pandemic situation, and it might also influence intention to use e-wallets. The WHO's advice to the government should encourage its people to engage in e-wallets payments (Huang, 2020). In Sri Lanka, Before the crisis, the most popular payment methods were direct bank transfers (100%) and cash-on-delivery for payments (80%). Also, online payments using debit/credit cards are significantly low (17%) due to the high cost of payment gateways. In these kinds of situations, the public cannot access banks and ATMs without mobile ATM usage.
So the final result is that reduced access to money amongst consumers. And current crisis also highlights the low level of online banking usage within the Sri Lankan economy. According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka's statistics, less than 15% of the country's banking customers access online banking physical money performs as a medium for the virus when an infected person touches it. WHO explains to use digital money when possible (Brown, 2020). Before this outbreak, cashless payment through smartphones gained popularity (Andrieu, 2001) in several developing countries (Capgemini, 2019).
Based on the Global Consumer Insight Survey 2020, a 31.80 million customers already engaged in a mobile connection. Mobile payment is an alternative form for e-wallets payments. In the past, the usage of e-wallets resulted in various findings. Aji (2020) identified consumers' intention to use e-wallet is significantly affected by knowledge about interest. And Mobile payment contains risk and uncertainty (Bagla, 2018;Leong, 2020). It is also associated with some criminal activities, such as theft, account take over, fraudulent actions, and data breaches (Marria, 2018).
The fact is that around 95% of all retail transactions in Sri Lanka are still cash-based (Echelon Media, 2020). Therefore, a broader improvement in the country's e-commerce ecosystem would result in longterm benefits to expand social media-based businesses' choice and coverage (Kithmina Hewage, 2020).
According to Rohan Buultjens (2020), they identified a couple of challenges when implementing cashless transactions, such as disconnection. When a customer orders an item, it doesn't know how the payment works or when to make the payment. According to Jayantha Fernando (2020), pandemics create an opportunity to answer the solutions for these challenges, including those to do with adoption, trust, and security. The biggest challenge they faced is getting people started in a cashless system. And he stated that Covid-19 had helped fast-track this by forcing people to adapt to it.
Payment cards also play a significant role in the local retail industry. In the past, consumers enjoy mobile phone-based payment mechanisms and e-money systems facilities to settle utility bills and make mobile money transfers. And the insignificant percentage of what consumers expect from electronic payment platform providers. Some people stop transferring money because Sri Lankans want to move forward and enjoy a plethora of services from a reliable electronic payment solution (Daily FT,2018).
According to Central Bank report 2020, almost Rs769 billion cash in circulation. Keeping money in circulation is costing the economy nearly 1.5% of GDP. So if they convert even 30% of the money into digital transactions, they can save at least half a percent of GDP, which can use for social welfare and other purposes. People moving into digital forms of payment transactions also address a social issue, which directly benefits the economy (Echelon, 2020).
More than 80% of Sri Lankans have bank accounts. They use 23 million debit cards, 1.7 million credit cards, and nearly 40% have smartphones but digitizing the financial system and ensuring inclusiveness remains a challenge. To address this issue and bridge services, costs, and other gaps, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka declared 2020 the "Year of Digital Transactions." (DailyFT, 2020). In Sri Lanka, banks provide a variety of e-wallet options for their customers. The biggest problem is that banks have to be aware of their products. But unfortunately, bank employees are unaware. Employees must know about these products. So, employees need to download these apps and use them to identify the difficulties customers face. Another significant issue is that even though many people have high-end smartphones when making payments, very few use them. Smartphone penetration in Sri Lanka is almost 40%, which is progressive for a developing country, increasing in the future. Therefore, when applications exist and are easy to use, people must be encouraged to adapt to this technology. The world is moving towards virtual banking, and there will be a reduction in conventional banking. In some countries, they have stopped expanding their bank branches, and everything done digitally (DailyFT, 2020). During this pandemic, many companies capture the older generations' people as their customers. Because most of them start using a cashless system, it will give us a boost when it comes to the adoption of this system (De Silva, 2020). Due to a lack of research on this topic and the growing importance, the present study contributes to the literature by examining the significant predictors of behavioral intention on e-wallet usage during the COVID-19 period in Sri Lanka.

Significance of the Study
Most people have a favorable opinion about mobile payment services and tend to use this service when they can reach it. The management should focus more on above-the-line marketing activities to raise customer awareness about this new service through this study. And can focus on the usefulness, convenience of this service towards the user's retention with them. The application design should be simple, easy to use, which can ensure that all of the age group will easily use the application. Besides, the manager can try to reach as many merchants as possible to increase this service's convenience. Ecommerce businesses in Sri Lanka can cooperate with many different business sectors from convenience stores, retail stores, supermarkets, public transportation, hospitals, airlines, and hospitality to enhance service and approach many more users. Encourage people to use less cash and use more of the applications and promote the products related to the pandemic situation so they can get more bonus points in the e-wallet payment system.

Research Objectives
"To Empirically Examine, is there a direct relationship between Predictors of behavioral intentions (attitude, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived cost, perceived risk, Subjective norms and Facilitating conditions) and the usage of an e-wallet."

Behavioral Intention to Usage e-wallet
An E-wallet is an application that allows an individual to make any e-commerce transactions by storing their credit card information. Payment through an e-wallet considers one of the most prominent transaction methods because electronic commerce via digital wallet has the advantage of the ease of use, flexibility, and protection (Uddin, 2014). As the number of e-payment systems increases, e-wallet has already gained fame by providing its vast number of services in the riding sector, food delivery, and bill payments (Rosnidah, 2019). The intention is a course of action that individual aims to achieve (Zhao, 2010). Behavioral intention is a person's subjective probability intended to attain within a period (Ajzen, 1988). An E-Wallet is a new form of payment system that is widely accepted. Many researchers identified a significant relationship between behavioral intention and advanced technology use (Barry and Jan 2018; Faqih and Jaradat, 2015; Jaradat, 2013). Consumers are altering their payment methods into contactless payment methods; e-payment channels, contactless cards, and e-wallets are safe methods that help avoid physical contact with surfaces (AP, 2020). The global payment system has shown remarkable resilience in fighting disease. The general public continues to rely on payment systems and providers, and there is little reporting of critical infrastructure.
Khosla (2020) concludes as the far-reaching spread of coronavirus has emerged as one of the biggest threats to the economy and financial markets worldwide. These days' small grocery stores, OTT, online gaming, e-learning, ATM outsourcing, and Broadband use also encourage digital payments. Behavioral intention positively and significantly affects actual use (Mun andHwang, 2003. in 2003, Venkatesh developed an extended Technology Acceptance Model. The model's findings reveal that behavioral intention to use has a significant and positive influence on user behavior. And the growth in online shopping is also a key driver to push consumers toward digital payments (Velychko, 2020). This trend toward contactless payment becomes a trended behavior globally due to different calls to use epayments to fulfill financial transaction requests (GlobalData, 2020). Contactless payments have been grown rapidly during the COVID-19 outbreak as there is a perception that it is a more hygienic payment method than other traditional payment methods (McKinsey, 2020). An E-wallet is a mobile payment in the electronic wallet category that can make non-cash transactions, does not use media such as cards to make payments, and can carry out electronic media transactions such as mobile devices (Olsen, 2011).
Gringoli (2020) analysis at a glance:  After spending has dropped, many payment companies are focusing first on improving their business.
 Due to the rapid transition of digital payments, challenges and opportunities are faced by many people. Regulators, for example, cut down on currency notes and encouraged non-contact settlement.

Attitude
Attitude is a positive or negative feeling about performing the target behavior (Momani & Jamous, 2017). Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and theory of planned behavior (DTPB) have used attitude as an independent variable as a predictor to see the intention to use new technology (Momani, A. & Jamous, M. 2017). Other findings show that attitude is the main factor which influences customer to adopt to e-wallet payment method. (Teng, 2018). Therefore, we assume that mentality significantly affects behavioral intention to use the e-wallet payment method.

Perceived Usefulness
The volume that a person believes that using a particular system would enhance their job performance (Davis, D. 1989 p.320). Most of the time, perceived usefulness is a fundamental and distinct construct (2015), where the perceived usefulness has a significant influence on behavioral intention to use the ewallet payment method. To prove that perceived usefulness has a considerable impact on behavioral intention, use e-wallet payment method researcher-developed following hypothesis.
H2: There is a significant impact of Perceived usefulness on intention to use an e-wallet

Perceived Ease of use
Perceived ease of use is as "the degree to which a person relies on that accessing Based on these different viewpoints the important to identify whether perceived cost impact on use ewallet payment method. So researcher-developed perceiver cost as hypothesis H4 is as followed: H4: There is a significant impact of Perceived cost on intention to use an e-wallet

Perceived Risk
Perceived risk means a feeling of uncertainty regarding possible negative consequences of using a product or service (Bauer, 1967 as cited by Phonthanukitithaworn, 2015). Chansaenroj & Techakittiroj (2015) shows that perceived risk influences behavioral intention to use the e-wallet payment method.
But according to some research about the perceived risk mentioned, perceived risk has no significant effect on behavioral intention to use the e-wallet payment method (Phonthanukitithaworn, 2015).
Therefore, the researcher developed that perceived risk significantly impacts behavioral intention to use an e-wallet payment method in hypothesis H5.

ANALYSIS AND RESULT DISCUSSION
Cronbach's Alpha coefficients of each construct are presented in   .000 The Pearson correlation coefficient presents to explain the relationship as well as the statistical significance between the factors. Among those factors, such as Attitude, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived cost, perceived risk, Subjective norms, Covid -19, and Facilitating conditions have a significant and positive relationship to use an e-wallet as the results in Table 4suggest the Test of Collinearity. Two primary methods were used to determine the presence of multi-collinearity among independent variables in this study. These methodologies involved calculating a Tolerance test and variance inflation factor (VIF) (Ahsan, 2009). The maximum acceptable VIF value would be 5.0; a VIF value higher than 5.0 indicates a problem with multi-collinearity (Hair, 2003). Thus, Table 4 revealed that none of the tolerance levels is less than 1, and VIF values are entirely below 5. It can see clearly that the VIF range between 1.837and 2.425values is below five. Another hand, the tolerance values range between 0.412and 0.544. Thus, the measures selected for assessing independent variable in this study does not reach levels indicate of Multi Collinearity.  Based on the above descriptive analysis table, male (54%) respondents have participated in this study than female (46%). Moreover, most of the respondents are contain ordinary level qualifications (47.4%). Furthermore, most of the respondents use this e-wallet for less than one year (40%). And also, more people have been using the eZ cash payment gateway for their transactions (32%).    The multiple regression analysis used to test hypotheses, and this multiple regression analysis is to predict the single dependent variable by a set of independent variables (Heppner, 2004). The purpose of regression analysis is to determine the significant impact or influence of independent variables on the dependent variable (Ndubisi, 2006).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
The development of technology in the modern era has been many sophisticated technologies that can help people carry out various daily activities. Internet network that allows its users to find out information and increase their knowledge. With an e-wallet, the users can make payments quickly and practically. An E-wallet defines as a convenient shopping tool without the need to carry cash (non-cash) that while doing other activities (Pranowo, 2016). During the Covid-19 pandemic is in Sri Lanka in March 2020, the central and local governments issued policies. These policies consider social distancing, working from home, eliminating worship activities, asking people to stay at home, and reducing economic activities outside the house to the procedure for physical distancing and large-scale social restrictions. Doing many transactions switches to digital payments to avoid physical contact between sellers and buyers. easily and practically. And offline stores and online stores using their smart-phones have the same functions as credit or debit cards that can make payments for food products in restaurants, online shopping (such as buying clothes, bags, and shoes), plane and train tickets, etc. As a result of the digital platform, consumers can easily download The e-wallet application on their smart-phone and easily make payments via smart-phone by scanning a barcode from the destination merchant who has applied the amount using an e-wallet. The explanation before shows that there are many e-wallet users, of the problem, the government will apply the most optimal solution to avoid viral transmissions. And the most common answer is known as restricting physical contact between individuals. Social distancing researchers prefer to test the impact of behavioral intention on the cashless payment method in Sri Lanka. For example, cashless payment method shares in Sri Lanka are still not significant. There is a possibility that the Srilankan may change their cash-based habits into cashless payment usage during this pandemic to ensure hygiene issues. Therefore, this research will largely contribute to the e-wallet payment industry in general.

Limitations and Directions for Future Research
The present study only contains some limited variables. Many factors influence e-wallet usage, so the present study suggested further including few more variables to examine electronic wallets' usage intention. Distinct features such as trust and reliability are recommended to apply in the research on behavioral intention to use the electronic wallet. The study was only conducted in the Sri Lankan context. Future research can be replicated using the same concept but different context to study the behavioral intention to use an e-wallet. The behavioral intention cannot wholly reflect the action in reality. Therefore, the future study needs to indicate the proportion of people willing to use mobile payment compared to the assumed behavioral intention.
The present study only considers the customer's perspective. Additionally, future lessons can consider having professional interviews with mobile payment companies or providers, allowing the research to understand the management perspective. Future studies are highly recommended to include the Qualitative research method into their homework to measure the respondent answers in numbers and words.