Drivers of Mobile Payment Acceptance:The Impact of Network Externalities in Nigeria

Abstract: The rising popularity of mobile payments can be attributed to the widespread use of smartphones and their applications. Despite its potential to simplify our lives, its adoption in African countries has been limited. This paper aims to enhance our understanding of the critical factors that influence the acceptance of mobile payments in Nigeria by exploring the impact of network externalities in addition to conventional technology acceptance factors. It posits that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, trust, and network externality are the key drivers of mobile payment acceptance. The research findings indicate that while traditional drivers still have an impact on customer's willingness to adopt mobile payment, network externalities have the strongest influence. The paper provides recommendations for future research, although the results did not support the impact of effort expectancy.