Abstract
Cashless economies are growing rapidly around the world. Many countries are adopting cashless payment solutions that aim to provide consumers with convenient and advanced methods of fulfilling their transactions without cash. Compared to other countries in Africa, South Africa has progressed the most with cashless economies providing consumers with various cashless payment options like debit and credit card payments, mobile wallets, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay and instant money transfers. Many consumers in Gauteng prefer to use cashless payment methods to fulfil their financial transactions. These cashless payment options offer consumers increased convenience when they transact, especially with online shopping through e-commerce platforms. Bank cards have been identified as a key technology in the adoption of cashless economies. Therefore, banks play a crucial role in the adoption of cashless economies, and the issuing of Point of Sale devices allows the population to use cards in payment for goods and services. Banks also issue accounts to members of the population, resulting in informal “black economies” that support illegal financial crimes (like money laundering) being reduced as all transactions are tracked and traced. This allows for faster identification of illegal financial activities in the economy. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) framework was used in this study to investigate users’ acceptance of cashless payments in Gauteng and examine the various factors that influence users’ attitudes and behaviours towards adopting a new system; in this case, cashless transactions. This was a quantitative study that used a structured questionnaire to collect data from a sample of the population in Gauteng. A purposive and convenience sampling technique was used to ensure the selected respondents of the study resided in Gauteng. The data were analysed using statistical inferential analysis. The results indicated that the majority of respondents have started adopting cashless payment methods, the money in circulation has decreased, the transition to a cashless economy would stimulate the creation of new employment opportunities, and that cashless economies would boost economic development. Keywords: Cash, Cashless, Cashless Economies, Economy, Money, Banks, Tax, Technology Acceptance Model, TAM, Technology, Digital, Cards.
M.Com. (Information Technology Management)