Determinants of Users’ intention to Adopt Central Bank Digital Currency in India: An Extended UTAUT Model with Mediating Role of Adoption Likelihood

This study examined the influence of awareness, digital financial literacy, adequate digital infrastructure, and UPI’s integration on users’ intention to use Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), with likelihood of adoption as a mediating variable. This study utilized the UTAUT framework along with extension. Data were collected by utilizing convenience and snowball sampling from 415 respondents across the Eastern Region of India. The study has employed Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse the data, utilizing bootstrapping of 5000 samples to assess the path results. A significant influence of awareness, digital financial literacy, adequate digital infrastructure, and UPI’s integration in fostering likelihood of adoption and a strong relationship between likelihood of adoption and users’ intention was observed. It confirms that the likelihood of adoption significantly mediates the relationship between the established constructs and users’ intention to use CBDC. This study contributes to both theoretical and practical aspects by identifying the likelihood of adoption as a key factor in gathering behavioural intention. It provides policymakers with an opportunity to address concerns related to digital financial literacy, adequate digital infrastructure, and UPI integration to strengthen users’ adoption and usage of CBDC, ultimately leading to a more inclusive and efficient digital economy.