Measuring consumer perceptions of payment mode

Although existing scales assess perceptions of money per se, none capture the mental and emotional experiences that the corporal quality of the payment mode generates. Historical and sensory associations with payment modes generate differential cognitive and emotional sensitivity in mental accounts, and influence the type, value and amount of products purchased. Although an increasing amount of attention has been devoted to the influence of payment mode on spending behavior, and little effort has been devoted to developing an appropriate measurement scale to capture consumers’ cognitive and emotional associations with payment modes. To address this gap in the literature, this study developed a conceptual and empirical framework with a sample of approximately 800 participants, and shows how the constructs and the scales capture perceptions of payment modes. The 19-item PPM scale represents four dimensions: emotions relating to cash and card based payment modes, social and personal gratification and money management. The PPM measurement scale demonstrates acceptable reliability and shows that consumer perceptions of payment modes influence spending behavior and predict ownership of financial cards in possession. The scale is useful in understanding consumer cognitive and emotional associations with payment modes, particularly the use of “owned money” and how these associations impact on payment mode choice.