This study investigates the assertion that the use of mobile financial services, tools that increase financial inclusion and reduce poverty, lags the adoption rate, partly due to concerns about trust in technology and mobile-finance providers. The study employs a 387-respondent survey from the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. A two-step factor-score structural equation model investigates trust as a mediating factor for perceived security, perceived benefits, perceived ease of use, age, and education. Results show that the impact of perceived ease of use and perceived benefits are amplified in a high trust environment. Trust has a complementary mediation relationship with perceived benefits and perceived ease of use. The effect of age is wholly mediated by trust, explaining the insignificance of age effects in studies of mobile finance use and adoption that do not consider mediation. Investment in user-friendly platform features can benefit overall provider performance. The importance of product design and security features is reiterated. Service providers should prioritize monitoring trust through customer surveys and educating users about the potential benefits of mobile financial services.
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