Understanding users' protective behavior and its suppressor effect on the perceived risk in M-wallet/banking use: An Indian urban-rural comparison

Mobile wallet/banking allows users to handle their finances on the go and defines the future of financial services. Nevertheless, as the incidence of cyber threats continues to increase, there is a corresponding increase in users' perceptions of risk. Therefore, to address risk perceptions, it is imperative to investigate and understand the protective behavior of users in this domain. However, the significance of protective behavior concerning perceived risk in the digital banking literature has yet to be discussed. This study examines users' protective behavior and its' suppressor effect on perceived risk by examining the interplay between protective behavior, perceived risk, and actual use behavior of m-wallet/banking in rural and urban settings. The proposed framework integrates the Protection Motivation Theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior with social media norms. Structural Equation Modeling was applied to analyze the data from 722 responses. According to the findings, threat and coping appraisal and subjective and social media norms are vital determinants in framing attitude towards protective behavior, further determining protective and use behavior. The findings may enable m-wallet/banking service providers to develop strategies to encourage protective behavior and manage perceived risk.