Factors Influencing the Intention to Use E-Wallet Services among University Students in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

The rapid development of financial technology has accelerated the trend toward cashless payments, in which e-wallets have emerged as a popular choice among young users. However, university students in the Mekong Delta—a region characterized by relatively low urbanization and limited technological infrastructure—have not been sufficiently studied. This research aims to identify the factors that influence students’ intention to use e-wallet services in this context. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and the Trust–Risk framework, the proposed model integrates seven constructs: perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), trust (TR), perceived risk (PR), social influence (SI), attitude (ATT), and behavioral intention (BI). Data were collected from 370 students with prior experience using e-wallets and analyzed using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method. The results reveal that PU and PEU positively affect ATT; ATT, TR, and SI directly influence BI; while PR has a negative effect on BI. The model explains 52% of the variance in BI and 44.5% of the variance in ATT, with measurement indices demonstrating reliability and validity. These findings extend the TAM framework by incorporating trust, risk, and social influence, offering theoretical insights into digital financial behavior in less urbanized contexts. From a practical perspective, the study provides strategic implications for service providers, educational institutions, and policymakers to foster students’ adoption of e-wallets, thereby contributing to the broader digital transformation process.