Determinants of Behavioral Intention to Adopt Mobile Payment in Egypt: The Mediating Role of Intention and Dominance of Cultural Factors

Mobile payment systems are widely viewed as a practical lever for sustainable financial inclusion in developing economies, with relevance to UN Sustainable Development Goals 1, 8, and 10. Yet in countries such as Egypt—where mobile penetration exceeds 95% but banking penetration remains below 35%—sustained engagement with these services lags policy expectations, suggesting that determinants beyond technology shape behavior. This study examines the determinants of behavioral intention and continued use of mobile payment among Egyptian users, and tests whether cultural factors dominate conventional technology-acceptance predictors in a collectivist, high-power-distance setting. A structured bilingual (Arabic–English) questionnaire measuring nine predictors across technology, psychological, and socio-cultural dimensions was administered to 200 active mobile-payment users in Egypt during January–February 2025. Hierarchical regression and mediation analysis (with Sobel/delta-method 95% confidence intervals as a robustness check) were used to examine direct effects on Behavioral Intention and continued use, and the mediating role of Behavioral Intention. Cultural Influence emerged as the strongest predictor of Behavioral Intention (β = 0.421, p < 0.001), followed by Facilitating Conditions (β = 0.282, p < 0.001); conventional TAM variables were not statistically significant. Cultural Influence retained a significant direct effect on continued use (β = 0.253, p < 0.01), indicating partial mediation. The findings support culture-sensitive approaches to technology adoption research and inform financial-inclusion policy in non-Western contexts. Limitations include the cross-sectional design and the convenience-based snowball sample of existing users.