Consumer acceptance among Malaysian in Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) Services: Integrating Perceived Trust and Perceived Risk with TPB model

Abstract

The rapid growth of financial technology has increased the popularity of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services as an alternative payment method in Malaysia. Despite their convenience and flexibility, BNPL services may expose consumers to financial risks, making it important to understand the factors influencing their adoption intentions. This study examines the effects of attitude (ATT), subjective norm (SN), perceived behavioral control (PBC), perceived trust (PT), and perceived risk (PR) on consumers’ intention to use BNPL services in Malaysia, drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and extending it with trust and risk constructs. A quantitative research approach was employed, using a self-administered online questionnaire distributed through snowball sampling over eight weeks. A total of 405 responses were collected and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4. The measurement model demonstrated satisfactory reliability and convergent validity, while the structural model explained 69.8% of the variance in adoption intention (R² = 0.698). The findings revealed that attitude (β = 0.337, p < 0.001), subjective norm (β = 0.235, p < 0.001), perceived behavioral control (β = 0.198, p = 0.002), and perceived trust (β = 0.117, p = 0.033) positively influenced consumers’ intention to use BNPL services. In contrast, perceived risk had a significant negative effect (β = −0.131, p = 0.002). These results suggest that favorable attitudes represent the strongest predictor of BNPL adoption intention, followed by social influence and perceived behavioral control. The study highlights the importance of improving user experience, strengthening data security, enhancing financial transparency, and implementing effective risk mitigation measures to encourage responsible BNPL adoption in Malaysia. This research contributes to the understanding of consumer behavior in digital financial services by integrating trust and risk into the TPB framework.