Views: 223 Downloads: 45

Abstract

The expansion of FinTech and digital payment systems is reshaping how individuals manage healthcare costs, including the payment of medicines and pharmacy services. Pharmacy students, as future healthcare professionals who will guide patients on cost management, are a strategically important yet understudied population for digital health payment adoption. This study examines the determinants of FinTech adoption for digital health payments by integrating the Technology Acceptance Model with trust theory and financial literacy theory. The model treats perceived usefulness, trust, and financial literacy as antecedents of behavioural intention, which drives FinTech adoption, with behavioural intention serving as a mediating mechanism. Using a cross-sectional survey of 320 pharmacy students in Vietnam, the model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The measurement model showed satisfactory reliability and validity (composite reliability 0.848–0.895; AVE 0.582–0.631; all HTMT ratios below 0.85). All hypothesised paths were positive and significant. Behavioural intention was the strongest predictor of adoption (β = 0.416). Perceived usefulness (β = 0.314) and trust (β = 0.300) were the leading drivers of behavioural intention, followed by financial literacy (β = 0.171); perceived usefulness (β = 0.392) and financial literacy (β = 0.324) also significantly built trust. Behavioural intention partially mediated the effects of all three antecedents on adoption. The model explained 33.3% of the variance in behavioural intention and 17.3% in adoption, with positive predictive relevance (Q² > 0). The findings extend technology-adoption models to health financial behaviour and offer implications for pharmacy education and digital health systems.

Keywords: Digital health payment, FinTech adoption, Financial literacy, Trust, Perceived usefulness, Pharmacy students, PLS-SEM

Citation Formats: