A Neuropsychological Study on How Consumers Process Risky and Secure E-payments

Dependable online payment systems (e-payments) are fundamental in promoting future online purchases. Yet little research has focused on either the differences between secure and risky e-payments or consumer reactions to the different systems. This study reverts to neuroscience (fMRI) to 1) identify the neural effects pertaining to risky and secure e-payments and 2) reveal the underlying brain mechanisms when confronted with two widespread systems: debit cards and Paypal. Thirty subjects participated in an experiment simulating a low-involvement online purchase. The analysis reveals that perceived risky e-payments activate brain areas linked to negative emotional processing, while areas involved with reward prediction are strongly triggered by secure e-payments. Furthermore, the study not only reveals a greater intention of use toward Paypal, but sees it as more secure, rewarding and affective. Debit card e-payments, by contrast, elicit brain activations associated with negative and risky events. Interestingly, the right cerebellum response (responsible for value encoding) covaried with more positive use intention toward Paypal. These results offer invaluable insight into the unconscious origin of the choice of payment systems among consumers.