The Factors Influencing the Adoption of Electronic Payment Systems in Nueva Ecija

The purpose of this research is to look at the elements that influence Filipino customers' adoption of e-payment systems. Data from 50 employees of a company who utilize online shopping payments were analyzed using descriptive analysis using mean, standard deviation, and Pearson correlation analysis. The study's findings revealed that the constructs of perceived risk, trust, security, perceived usefulness, and ease of use were insufficient to determine their links to embrace e-payment systems. As a result, the criteria examined in this study are not the only ones that may impact customers' decisions. Lastly, it is found that there is a correlation between factors and electronic payment adoption.


Introduction
Electronic payments (ePayments) have shown to be quite beneficial in terms of streamlining accounts payable operations.In recent years, the Philippines' digital payments ecosystem has seen substantial expansion and evolution.The country's central bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), created the National Retail Payment System (NRPS) in 2015 to promote the growth and adoption of electronic payments across the archipelago of islands.This method has aided in increasing the availability and accessibility of digital payments in the Philippines, with a variety of possibilities.This expansion would have been startling in a society that has typically been sluggish to modernize tried-and-true popular methods like currency.
As a result, digital payment alternatives represent the possibility of some financial independence for the vast majority of Novo Ecijano (a demonym to the people living in Nueva Ecija), many of whom are dispersed across the vast network of over 32 municipalities and cities that comprise the province, and thus frequently have limited access to more traditional payment infrastructures.
However, with the introduction of digital payments in the Philippines, broader financial services may now be made more easily accessible and widely available to distributed Philippines' customers by depending on primarily virtualized infrastructure.As of 2021, the province was slowly started the digitalized payments market is dominated by numerous large firms, including online payment platforms, mobile wallet providers, and banks.Electronic payment wallets like G-Cash and PayMaya, as well as the blockchain-based cryptocurrency exchange and wallet Coins.ph, are among the most popular digital payment methods in the province.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
According to BSP data, more Filipinos are using e-wallets or making electronic payments.In 2018, e-payment systems outperformed credit cards.Additional data reveal that more Filipinos are becoming aware of contactless payments and recognize the benefits of such services.According to the Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes research, E-payment methods were known to 80 percent of respondents (Visa, 2019).Despite Filipino consumers' awareness of the benefits of digital payment platforms, the actual number of e-payment accounts fell to 8.6 million in 2018 from 11.4 million in 2018, according to the BSP's Financial Statistics Survey on Inclusion.Most establishments and businesses want to use electronic payments more frequently.Still, the largest challenge for many of them is getting suppliers to accept them and getting team members to go out to and sign up vendors.Despite the lucrative market for e-payment (or electronic) systems.Recent years have seen a continued use of cash to rule the Philippines and also in Nueva Ecija.
In this regard, we are looking for insight into the factors impacting the use of electronic payment methods by the residents of Nueva Ecija.Descriptive analysis was used to analyze data and provide key figures.The frequency and percentage are used to examine the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents, while the mean and standard deviation are used to determine the findings of Likert scale questions, which are then followed by a correlation test.The Pearson correlation coefficient was utilized to assess the factors impacting electronic payment system adoption in Nueva Ecija.

Hypothesis
H1.There is a correlation between the intention to use an e-payment system and the perceived risk.H2.There is a relationship between the intention to adopt an e-payment system and Security H3.There is a relationship between the intention to adopt an e-payment system and trust in H4.There is a relationship between adopting an e-payment system and perceived usefulness H5.There is a relationship between adopting an e-payment system and ease of use Figure 1 shows the research paradigm of the study.This illustrates for insight into the factors impacting the use of electronic payment methods of Novo Ecijanos.According to Rachna and Singh's (2013) research study, the issues and challenges in electronic payment systems are (1) Lack of Usability, where the online forms require a lot of information from users, and using a complex website interface that makes it difficult for the users to adopt; (2) Lack of Security, when e-commerce becomes a target for obtaining personal sensitive information and/or stealing money due to users having to provide sensitive information on the internet; and (3) Lack of Transparency, where users are required to provide sensitive information (4)Lack of awareness, which occurs when users avoid online payment methods and continue to favor traditional payment methods; (5)Issues with eCash, which is not widely used because both the user and the vendor must use the same bank that offers e-Cash; (6) Users Perception Regarding Acceptance of Electronic Payment Systems; Neglect in the Needs of Both Users and Vendors; (7) Online Payments are Not Feasible in Rural Areas; (8) Highly Expensive and Time Consuming: On the vendor side, setting up an online payment system would be expensive and involve costs for the setup of the system, the machine, and management in addition to additional costs compared to physical modes of payment (Rachna & Singh, 2013).Even with substantial top-down support from the BSP, the Philippines is still reliant on cash and check payments (Nair, 2016).
Only 1% of the 2.5 billion (US$ 74 million) payments processed each month, according to the Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA) (2015), are digital (Nair, 2016).The National Strategy for Financial Inclusion, which emphasizes the need for technology to reach out to individuals who are financially excluded, was established by BSP as part of its attempts to further strengthen the electronic payment systems in the Philippines (Nair, 2016).One of the reasons for this is that there is limited access to banking because it is primarily available in urban areas.However, because online transactions are carried out using financial cards, there are currently fewer background checks required when using debit cards and/or credit cards, which are now widely used (Nair, 2016).Additionally, the BSP required banks to switch from Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) stripe payment to EMV chip-enabled cards until 2017, which will improve consumer security while using these financial cards by lowering card fraud (Nair, 2016).The National Retail Payment System (NRPS) also aims to encourage interoperability in electronic payment transactions, improve transparency and accountability in financial transactions, and enable the provision of a wider range of access to financial services that could address the Philippines' issue with cashless transactions.According to Rappler in 2015, the BSP anticipates that NRPS will enable it to increase the amount of electronic payments made each month from 1% to 20%.

Research Methodology
The study employed a quantitative approach based on pre-determined hypotheses and data collected via an instrument-based questionnaire.In the study, the researcher aimed to know the factors affecting Novo Ecijanos' adoption of e-payment.The respondents of the study are randomly selected employees of the Nueva Ecija.The participants are exposed to several businesses and services that provide electronic payment systems.Retail and restaurant shops and convenience stores in the neighborhood accept digital payments from platforms.
Primary data were gathered virtually from the respondents through Google Forms.The first part of the questionnaire is a multiple choice, aimed to describe the demographic profile of the respondents.The second part is 5 Likert scale comprising several statements rated by the respondents.Eisenberger et al. (2002) state that the indicators for various factors affecting the adoption of e-payments.The respondents were asked for their consent and voluntarily participated.The objectives of the study were also indicated at the beginning of the electronic form.
Descriptive analysis was used in analyzing data and presenting important figures.The frequency and percentage used to analyze respondents' socio-demographic characteristics, the mean and standard deviation are used to determine the results of Likert scale questions, followed by a correlation test.The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to test the factors influencing the adoption of electronic payment systems in Nueva Ecija.

Demographic Profile of the Respondents
Employees of an organization in within Nueva Ecija, have taken part in the study.The participants are exposed to various businesses and services that accept e-payments.Local restaurants, retail businesses, and convenience stores accept online payments from services.
The majority of poll respondents are between the ages of 23 and 30, with respondents over the age of 45 making up the smallest percentage of participation.With 70% of the sample consisting of responders, women make up the majority of the group.However, with a total of 30%, the proportion of male responses is not too far off.Most responders have a bachelor's or undergraduate degree as their greatest level of schooling.
The majority of the respondents are employed representing the 56% of the sample population.Because all of the respondents indicated that they were able to do online purchases prior to the survey, they continued to the questionnaire's subsequent questions.The majority of respondents utilized this type of service for online shopping and restaurant payments.The respondents are the most regular users of digital payment services, the most common electronic payment type they are using is the e-wallet which indicated 48% of the respondents.Taking risks is one of the most important strategies to enhance one's talents and gain experience.The desire to implement an e-payment system might be attributed to its perceived dangers.The above explains the respondent's opinion about the perceived risk of e-payment.The mean response is 3.84 and the standard deviation is 0.805 and almost all of the respondents are agreed that e-payments mitigate risk.According to Hossain (2019), the perceived risk might have a detrimental impact on the perceived trust and customer happiness of mobile payment customers.On the other hand, the literature reveals that organizations providing this platform are attempting to increase their customers' privacy and provide them incentives in order to persuade them to use it.

Descriptive Analysis of the Respondents Towards Security
Table 3 3 depicts the respondents' perspectives on security.These factors, according to the data, explain why nearly all of the respondents believe that security has an influence on with regard to epayment.All of the following security aspects are required for electronic payment systems; an unsecure e-payment system will not be trusted by its customers.Furthermore, trust is critical to ensuring acceptance from the clients.As previously stated, e-banking and e-payment apps have security challenges since they rely on fundamental ICT frameworks that create weaknesses in economic organizations, and firms, and can potentially harm customers.respondent views on trust towards e-payment, with a mean value of 3.97 and a standard deviation of 0.640.The process of trust has a good influence on the ongoing use of mobile payments by increasing satisfaction, which is a crucial aspect in the overall purpose.The perceived similarity and entitativity of online and mobile payments can also favorably increase trust (Cao, Yu, Liu, Gong, & Adeel, 2018).According to Chiu, Bool, and Chiu (2017), non-adopters of mobile banking discovered that early confidence had a substantial effect on their desire to utilize online banking services.The respondents' perceptions with regard to perceived usefulness towards e-payment is explained in Table 5, where the mean value is 4.18 and the standard deviation is 0.388.As a result of these variables, virtually all of the respondents agreed that quality had an impact on towards adoption of e-payment.Previous research showed a positive relationship between deciding to use an e-payment system and its usability.According to Molina-Castillo, Lopez-Nicolas, and de Reuver (2020), perceived functional value and enabling conditions that support it are the most important elements in mobile payment intention.De Luna, Liébana-Cabanillas, Sánchez-Fernández, and Muoz-Leiva (2018) discovered that usefulness attitude and perceived security are important factors affecting e-payment system usage intention.6 presents respondent views on ease of use towards e-payment, with a mean value of 4.09 and a standard deviation of 0.533.However, the model's perceived usability and perceived ease of use components are crucial.According to Atlantic Press (2022), the one-month study was done in China with 245 respondents utilizing survey data gathering methods.The perceived ease of use of an e-payment assesses how simple it is for consumers to use.The influence of perceived ease of use on the propensity to utilize e-payments was explored.7 above explains the respondents' degree of agreement towards adoption of e-payment.The mean response is 4.05, and the standard deviation is 0.793, indicating that practically all respondents are happy with the e-payment service and want to use it more in the future.E-payments enable consumers to make payments online at any time and from any location in the globe, eliminating the need to visit banks.Faster electronic payments, such as virtual cards, enable organizations to increase security, visibility, and efficiency while cutting costs and reducing time spent on manual operations.

The relationship between the influencing factors and electronic payment adoption.
The study used the Pearson Correlation Coefficient to test the relationship between the respondents' perceived influencing factors toward the adoption of E-payments.A scale from + 1 to -1 is used to calculate the correlation coefficient.Table 4, shows that r value, P value, and this implies a moderate, very low, and low positive correlation.The correlations were examined based on an alpha value of 0.05.There were four not significant correlations based on the pairs of variables.H1 cannot be accepted since the degree of significance is insufficient to reject the null hypothesis.The results reveal that there is a slight association between the desire to adopt an e-payment system and perceived risk.The outcome is consistent with the findings of the anchor piece.Furthermore, Ozkan et al. (2010) discovered no link between the desire to use an e-payment system and perceived danger.Perceived risk was found to be substantial in earlier investigations.It affects perceived trust, consumer satisfaction, and adoption intentions (Hossain, 2019).H2 was rejected because the result of the test was significant.There is still no link between the intention to use an e-payment system and security.The relationship between the two is also weak.The study's findings contradict the findings of Ozkan et al. ( 2010), who discovered that the significance value is sufficient to reject the null hypothesis.Despite their importance, the link between them was minimal.H3 was accepted the P-value is .112897.The result is not significant at p < .05.According to the study, confidence in e-payment systems has a strong beneficial impact on their acceptability.Research has thus established that trust has a major influence on whether customers accept e-payment systems.H4 is rejected, and the hypothesis that there is no link between intention to use an epayment system and usability stays unchanged.H5 is also rejected.According to Mun et al. ( 2017), perceived utility is the most crucial element in the desire to use a mobile payment service.
Previous research, as noted in the literature review, regarded these constructs to be relevant and expressed their worries about them.Contrary to the findings of this study, participants did not experience any substantial challenges that may alter their assessment of the notions.

IV. Conclusions and Recommendations
In an area where cash continues dominating, such as the Nueva Ecija, digital payment platforms may have difficulties in becoming extensively used in transactions.Filipinos continue to have a low population in terms of bank accounts since most prefer the tangibility of actual money.
The findings of the study indicated that the measuring scales of previous elements, intermediate factors, and e-payment adoption are accurate.The exploratory factor analysis and confirmation factor analysis of all indicators revealed that the factor loading of all items was rather high.Regardless of the research outcomes, the same model may be utilized in a larger sample size to make a more accurate population judgment.Because the study's sample size is tiny, it cannot be stated that the model is ineffective in determining the variables influencing the adoption of e-payment systems.
A future study might look at the relationship between adoption intentions and bank account ownership.Most e-payment systems do not require a bank account and may be accessed with a few pieces of personal information without the need to visit a physical location.Subsequent research can compare the frequency of e-payment transactions to the frequency of physical purchases.Case studies may be utilized in a more in-depth research to better identify their attitude outside of the close-ended questions used in questionnaires to better understand the customers that use and will most likely use e-payment systems.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Research Paradigm The general objectives of the study are to understand the factors affecting Novo Ecijanos' adoption of e payment, and the specific objectives of this study are: and the specific objectives of this study are: 1.To determine the profile of the respondents 1.1 Age 1.2 Gender 1.3 Educational Attainment 1.4 Job Positions

Table 2 .
Respondents' Perceived Risk Descriptive Statistics . Descriptive Analysis of Respondents' Attitudes Toward Security

Table 4 .
Descriptive Analysis of Respondents' Attitudes Towards Trust

Table 5 .
Descriptive Analysis of Respondents' Attitudes Towards Perceived Usefulness

Table 6 .
Descriptive Analysis of Respondents' Attitudes Towards Ease of Use

Table 7 .
Descriptive Analysis of Respondents' Attitudes Electronic Payment Adoption

Table 8 .
Summary of Pearson Correlation Results