Determinants of success of mobile payments as innovations: An exploratory study based on the extant literature, the M-Pesa, Alipay, and Nubank cases, and the opinion of experts

Abstract

Abstract An important fact related to mobile payments is that adopters have already reached the majority group in more than 40 countries. Despite the growth of mobile payments, only a small portion of the related literature has focused on the topic from an organizational point of view. To fill this gap, this paper seeks to identify the main success determinants of firms operating in the segment, looking for relevant characteristics of organizations that are successful in this competitive arena. The investigation carried out a triangulation with the results of a literature review, a case study, and the answers given by a questionnaire applied to a group of specialists from private organizations and the public sector. The results suggest that companies with organic and flexible structures, open communication qualities, and decentralized decision processes increase their chances of success. Furthermore, the results also show that, given non-impeditive regulations, critical mass and the provision of different services other than the payment choice should be considered by firms operating in the mobile payment segment. Graphical Abstract

Keywords

• Mobile payment
• Innovation
• Payment instrument
• Financial intermediation