Exploring the determinants affecting the usage of blockchain-based remittance services: an empirical study on the banking sector

Abstract

The industrial revolution 4.0 has pushed the banking sector to bring transparency in their financial transactions, especially in sending and receiving remittances. This study identifies the factors that affect the user's behaviour in the adaptability of blockchain technology (BT). The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) with two additional factors comprising trust and transparency is used in the current study. The data of 240 respondents from the banks of Pakistan were tested through the PLS-SEM and fsQCA. The study results show that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, trust in BT, transparency in BT and the facilitating condition positively affect, while social influence negatively affects the behavioural intention towards BT. This study extends the application of the UTAUT model with two dimensions (e.g., trust and transparency) to identify the factors that predict bankers' intentions and their subsequent effect on the overall use of blockchain-based remittance services in Pakistani banks. In addition, we extend this study by combining symmetric (i.e. PLS-SEM) and asymmetric (i.e. fsQCA) techniques to generate significant implications for banks that provide blockchain-based remittance services. The asymmetric findings also provided bankers with two models (recipes) that have a greater potential for predicting bankers' use of blockchain-based remittance services.