Abstract:

Digital finance in India has been transformed by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ecosystem, yet the specific service-design mechanisms that convert casual transaction activity into sustained user engagement remain empirically under-examined. This study investigates the influence of three service-design dimensions—Touchpoint Usability (TU), Blueprint Reliability (BR), and Lifestyle Functionality (LF)—on overall User Engagement (UE) with fintech payment applications in India. Using a descriptive-cum-diagnostic research design, primary data were collected from 200 dual-literate digital-finance users through a structured, closed-ended questionnaire anchored on a five-point Likert scale. Data were analysed using percentage analysis, Cronbach's alpha reliability testing, the Chi-square test of association, Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, and Exploratory Factor Analysis (Principal Component Analysis with Varimax rotation) using IBM SPSS. All Chi-square tests (25 cross-tabulations spanning age, gender, education, occupation, and income) were statistically significant (p < .05), confirming pronounced demographic-based "service design asymmetry." The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure (KMO = 0.837) and Bartlett's test of sphericity (χ² (210) = 3729.92, p < .001) confirmed the suitability of the data for factor analysis, which extracted four latent components explaining 72.83% of total variance. Multiple regression revealed that Lifestyle Functionality was the sole significant predictor of User Engagement (β = 0.77, p < .001), with the overall model explaining 62.4% of the variance in engagement (R² = 0.624, F(3,196) = 108.56, p < .001), while Touchpoint Usability and Blueprint Reliability, though highly rated, did not independently predict engagement once Lifestyle Functionality was accounted for. The findings suggest that reliability and usability function as "hygiene factors" that are necessary but not sufficient for engagement, whereas lifestyle-oriented, gamified, and habit-forming features are the true engagement drivers. The study concludes with managerial recommendations for fintech platforms and traditional banks seeking to close the interface-engagement gap.

Keywords:

Service design, Fintech, UPI, Touchpoint usability, Blueprint reliability, User engagement, Factor analysis, India

Aim/Objectives

Methods