Title: Financial inclusion for inclusive growth: adoption of unified payment interface in hilly rural areas of Uttarakhand

Authors: Mohd Adnan; Rashi Alagh; Jaidev Singh Negi; Anand Ballabh Thapliyal

Addresses: HNB Garhwal University, SRT Campus, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India ' HNB Garhwal University, SRT Campus, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India ' HNB Garhwal University, SRT Campus, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India ' HNB Garhwal University, SRT Campus, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India

Abstract: Financial inclusion is a crucial enabler for inclusive economic growth and poverty alleviation. Accessibility and utilisation of formal financial services are integral to financial inclusion. That is why providing affordable access and easy to use financial services is at the forefront of policy initiatives of the Indian Government. This study focuses on factors affecting the adoption of the unified payment interface (UPI) in hilly rural areas of Uttarakhand. This research paper analysed the factors contributing to the adoption of UPI in Uttarakhand's mountainous terrain, and the technology acceptance model is utilised as the conceptual model. A structured questionnaire is distributed among the respondents residing in the districts of Dehradun, Tehri, and Rishikesh through offline and online modes. The study results show a significant impact of both the perceived usefulness of UPI and the perceived ease of using UPI on the behavioural intention to adopt UPI-based applications.

Keywords: digital banking; financial inclusion; hilly region; rural area; technology acceptance model; TAM; UPI adoption.

DOI: 10.1504/IJICBM.2024.140339

International Journal of Indian Culture and Business Management, 2024 Vol.32 No.4, pp.566 - 581

Received: 22 Jul 2022
Accepted: 02 Apr 2023
Published online: 03 Aug 2024 *

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