An Analysis of the Factors Influencing Consumers’ Adoption of Mobile Money Transfer Services (MMTs) in Masvingo Urban, Zimbabwe

Abstract

The ever-expanding technological innovations have stirred a phenomenal transmutation of the face of businesses across the globe, especially the mobile telecommunications sectors resulting in the introduction of mobile money transfer services (MMTs). This paper sought to analyse the factors that influence consumers’ adoption of MMTs from a consumer behavioural perspective based on the extensions of the construct extracted from the propositions made by Davis (1989) in his Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Rogers (1983) in the Diffusion of Innovation theory. In Zimbabwe, the mobile telecommunication companies, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, Telecel Zimbabwe and the government owned Netone have launched the mobile money transfer businesses. However, the major concern related to this paradigm shift of sending money has been the market acceptance and the actual usage of these products with particular emphasis on the factors influencing consumers’ adoption decisions. It was concluded that the perceived ease of use, consumers’ perceived usefulness of the service, perceived trust and the perceived relative advantage of MMTs are the critical determinant factors in influencing consumers’ adoption decisions.