Awareness and Adoption of the Cashless Economy in Nepal

Abstract

The concept of a cashless economy aims to reduce cash usage and promote electronic transactions, reflecting a major shift in payment methods in the digital age. While existing research often lacks relevance across different contexts, there is a notable gap in studying the factors affecting cashless transaction adoption among university students in Nepal. This study seeks to evaluate the level of awareness and adoption of cashless transactions among these students and identify the unique factors influencing their behaviors. This study was conducted in Kathmandu, involving 425 respondents where primary data were collected through a questionnaire. Data analysis involved descriptive and inferential statistics that included a t-test, Kruskal Wallis test, and percentage analysis for awareness level rank analysis to examine the influencing factors for the adoption of cashless transactions. The result revealed no significant difference in the mean between the level of awareness and gender; |t(423)| = 0.39 and p-value > 0.05. It also revealed “perceived usefulness” as the most influencing factor for the adoption of cashless transactions using rank analysis based on the mean value (M=4.00). Similarly, The Kruskal Wallis test result showed no difference in awareness level among the payment methods (H=0.921, p-value 0.05). The findings of the study, gender has no bearing on one's level of digital payment awareness. Knowing the contributing variables, the study offered perceptions of perceived significance, such as perceived utility and perceived ease of use, suggesting a major role in the adoption of cashless transactions, as well as in influencing people's awareness and promoting the cashless economy.