Digital finance and personality traits interplay in determining central bank digital currency adoption: extending the technology acceptance perspective

Purpose The study investigates how individual differences, in terms of users’ digital financial profiles and personality traits, affect their technological perceptions of the central banking digital currency (CBDC). In addition to examining direct effects, the study also assesses the moderating role of personality traits and digital financial profiles. Design/methodology/approach The study developed a structured questionnaire to collect users’ responses on key constructs incorporated in the model. The measurement items for the constructs were adopted from existing literature and modified to fit the context of CBDC. Data were collected from 657 users of financial services. The proposed relationships were tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) with Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) 20, and a multi-group moderation approach was employed to examine the moderating effects. Findings The findings indicate that digital financial literacy (DFLT) and financial inclusion significantly influence users’ perception of ease of use and usefulness of CBDC, respectively. Further, perceived usefulness has a significant effect on users’ intention to use CBDC for financial transactions. The results also supported the moderating effect of personality traits and digital financial profile in the relationship between perception and usage intention toward CBDC. Practical implications The findings on the role of core technology acceptance model variables in CBDC adoption bear important implications. Moreover, the influence of users’ digital financial profiles suggests that policymakers should prioritize enhancing DFLT and digital financial inclusion (DFIN) to promote CBDC adoption. The moderating role of personality traits signifies the need to consider individual differences when strategizing initiatives to accelerate CBDC adoption. Originality/value No previous study has provided a comprehensive measure of users’ digital financial profiles or assessed their role in CBDC adoption. This study fills this gap by conceptualizing a digital financial profile in terms of DFLT and DFIN and examining its impact on CBDC adoption. Moreover, it explores the moderating role of personality traits in CBDC adoption–an area that has remained unexplored in existing literature.