From ease of use to satisfaction: the roles of trust and risk in digital payment adoption

Despite the expansion of digital payment systems in developing economies, users remain hesitant to adopt them due to concerns over ease of use, trust and risk. This study aims to examine how perceived ease of use drives digital payment adoption and customer satisfaction, integrating perceived risk and trust as boundary conditions in India. Data were collected from 589 users in Southern India. Least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to evaluate the measurement and structural models, while moderation analyses examined the roles of perceived risk and trust. Perceived ease of use (PEOU) positively influences adoption and perceived usefulness. Trust strengthens the PEOU–adoption relationship, whereas perceived risk weakens the PEOU–usefulness link. Adoption mediates the effect of PEOU on customer satisfaction, thereby enhancing satisfaction. This study extends technology acceptance model (TAM) by shifting focus from intention to post-adoption satisfaction, showing that ease of use improves outcomes primarily through actual adoption. By reframing trust and perceived risk as boundary conditions, it explains why ease of use does not consistently translate into adoption or satisfaction. Evidence from India’s rapidly expanding yet risk-sensitive digital payment environment demonstrates that TAM relationships are context-dependent, revealing conditional rather than universal pathways of technology acceptance.