Perceptions of Online Financial Services: An Assessment of Usefulness, Ease of Use, Risk, and Trust

The financial services sector is undergoing rapid digital transformation, yet the adoption of online financial services (OFS) remains uneven due to perceptual barriers such as security concerns and limited digital and financial literacy. Existing research, often based on aggregate models such as the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), tends to overlook heterogeneity in user perceptions and leaves unresolved whether the digital divide is primarily generational or socio-economic. This study addresses these gaps through a quantitative, descriptive–analytic, and exploratory design based on a cross-sectional survey of 225 respondents. Integrating TAM, UTAUT, Diffusion of Innovations, Perceived Risk, and Trust, the analysis combines correlational assessment, non-parametric group comparisons, and hierarchical cluster analysis. Three main findings emerge. First, Perceived Risk appears statistically decoupled from the core adoption-related perceptions of usefulness and ease of use, suggesting a more latent role among current users. Second, two distinct divides are identified: an age-based divide affecting perceived ease of use, and a stronger education- and income-based divide affecting perceived usefulness and facilitating conditions. Third, three perceptual profiles are identified, challenging the “average user” assumption. Profile membership is significantly associated with education, but not age, suggesting that the main barrier to inclusive digital finance is increasingly one of literacy rather than generation.