The interplay of perceived risk, perceive benefit and generation cohort in digital finance adoption

Purpose Financial service providers are facing challenges in the acceptance of digital financial services. The study, therefore, intends to identify factors contributing towards the adoption of digital finance. It has worked on the influencers and demotivators of digital finance adoption by individuals. These influencers are labelled as perceived benefits and demotivators as perceived risks. In addition to perceived benefit and risk, the study has also included the difference in perception on the basis of generation cohort. Design/methodology/approach The data have been collected through a structured questionnaire from 411 respondents. Partial least squares structured equation modelling (PLS-SEM) has been used to analyse the proposed model on SmartPLS. Findings The findings suggested that the benefits were more influential in adoption behaviour than perceived risk. In addition to perceived benefit and risk, the study has also included the difference in perception on the basis of generation cohort. The results summarised that benefits had a more significant impact in Generation Z (Gen Z) than in Millennials. Research limitations/implications The evaluation and categorisation of perceived risk and benefits into meaningful dimensions generate value to the adoption behaviour of digital finance. Thus, the findings are useful for the policymakers and researchers to contemplate the perception of individuals in digital finance based on the generation cohort. Originality/value The empirical findings of the present research contribute to limited evidence of a relationship between perceived risk, perceived benefit and digital finance adoption on the basis of generation cohort.