Cashless Payments in a Sustainable Digital Economy: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Purpose: The study was conducted to analyse the overall picture of studies related to cashless payments in the period 1998–2024 and propose future research directions.
Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted using bibliometric analysis of 902 research articles from Web of Science using VOSviewer software to visualise the co-occurrence network of keywords.
Findings: The results show that the number of publications on cashless payments has grown dramatically after the Covid-19 pandemic. Of which, India and Emerald Group are the dominant countries and publishers in this field. Keyword analysis shows that five main topic clusters shape this research field. Notably, the research trend has shifted from focusing on initial intentions to studying how users maintain their behaviour in different contexts.
Originality/value: The study highlights an emerging theme – intention to continue using. Further research on this topic will be key to promoting the development of non-cash payments, contributing to building a sustainable digital economy.