Digital Payments and Consumer Spending : Investigating the Role of Perceived Pain of Paying and Financial Management Attitudes

The study examines the relationship between digital payment usage, perceived pain of paying and financial management attitudes in order to examine their impact on consumer spending behaviour. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from behavioural economics and decision-making theory, the study proposes a theorem suggesting that digital payments reduce the psychological discomfort associated with spending, leading to increased impulsive spending behaviour, and potentially altered financial management attitudes. Empirical evidence from other studies, such as the pain of paying and adoption of electronic payment in consumer behaviour, is gathered to support this theorem. The paper presents a conceptual framework and model to illustrate the hypothesized relationship between digital payments, payment difficulties and consumer financial behaviour. A significant correlation between digital payment usage, perceived pain in paying, impulsive spending behaviour, and financial management attitudes has been found in the analysis of hypothetical data. Consideration is given to the implications of the study for theory, practice, and policy, together with recommendations for future research.