Service Reliability Beats Convenience: Explaining QRIS Satisfaction and Usage Intensity in South Sulawesi MSMEs

This study examines whether service reliability or perceived convenience matters more for sustaining QRIS usage among MSME merchants in South Sulawesi. Using a cross-sectional survey of 130 owner/managers (QRIS active ≥3 months), we estimate a mediation-only model with PLS-SEM: Service Reliability and Perceived Convenience influence merchant satisfaction, which then explains usage intensity (monthly frequency and average value). Service Reliability is modeled as a second-order formative construct built from authorization success ratio, stability/uptime, performance consistency, and incident recovery, other constructs are reflective. Results show Service Reliability relates strongly to Satisfaction (β = .52), while Perceived Convenience is positive but smaller (β = .21). Satisfaction exhibits a robust association with Usage Intensity (β = .67). As specified, direct links to Usage Intensity are constrained to zero, both antecedents act exclusively through Satisfaction. Indirect effects are significant, with the reliability–satisfaction–usage route (β_ind = .35) exceeding the convenience–satisfaction–usage route (β_ind = .14). Measurement quality meets recommended thresholds, the model explains substantial variance (R2_Satisfaction = .68, R2_Usage = .45), and PLS-predict indicates meaningful out-of-sample relevance. The findings refine post-adoption theory for real-time payments by establishing outcome assurance as the primary lever of sustained QRIS engagement and direct managerial attention to uptime, success ratio, and recoverability as first-order performance KPIs.