Digital financial services (DFS) features and their influence on customers' choice of financial institutions in Malta : the case of Revolut

Abstract

Digital Financial Services (DFS) is transforming the financial environment in the world since it is giving consumers new possibilities of accessing, controlling, and interacting with financial assets. The paper will outline the nature of DFS and its influence on consumer decision making in the process of selecting financial institutions, using Revolut as the case study in Malta. As more sectors continue to accelerate towards the digital transformation process, we have felt compelled to explore more dimensions of availability, trust, security, and convenience, and cost transparency in the definition of consumer preferences. The research is based on three research questions, and it follows the research design of interpretivist, phenomenological research, and uses semi-structured interviews with 13participants who were selected purposively and are Revolut users. Five guiding adoption forces were identified through thematic analysis, i.e., they were: (i) convenience and accessibility, (ii) trust and security, (iii) cost transparency, (iv) user interface and experiential design and (v) demographic and social factors. It is also shown in the findings that convenience and clear pricing are significant trigger factors to adoption, and the trust and intuitive design processes are significant factors to retention over time. Adoption patterns were also found to vary across demographic characteristics, particularly age and digital literacy, with the younger and digitally literate respondents observed to become early adopters. The study adds to the theory through the combination of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), Diffusion of Innovation (DOI), and behavioral economics into the Integrated DFS Adoption and Experience Framework. In practice, the study offers lessons to financial institutions, regulators, and policymakers in Malta who want to bring about financial inclusion, consumer trust, and manage innovation and effective regulation. Future research recommendations involve longitudinal research of changing behaviors of DFS adoption and cross-country comparative research to assess the Malta fintech ecosystem in comparison to other digitally progressive small economies.