Present State and Future Directions of Digital Payments System: A Historical and Bibliographic Examination

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to conduct a bibliographic analysis of digital payment systems.   Theoretical framework:  The digital payments system is a technologically advanced payment system that enables individuals, businesses, and nations to become self-sufficient, contactless, and tap-less when conducting transactions. Understanding the significance of the digital payment system is crucial.  There remains much to investigate and discover.   Design/methodology/approach:  The using of an academic search method on the Scopus database, a bibliometric study of 714 publications on digital payment systems from the year 2000 to 2022 was conducted. For this experiment, we made use of Biblioshiny, an R-based web application available in the Bibliometrix package. We were able to identify significant publications, authors, nations, and article themes by using the software's automatic technique. We studied the citations, co-citations, and social networks.   Findings:  The results were able to identify significant publications, authors, nations, and article themes by using the software's automatic technique. We studied the citations, co-citations, and social networks. The statistics revealed that the number of publications increased gradually in the early years, followed by a sharp rise between the years 2005 and 2022. These years correspond to the political attempts to recover from the 2008 global financial crisis. India conducts the most significant scientific research in this field, followed by United States and China.   Research, Practical & Social implications:  This study not only identifies the research fields in digital payment systems, but also identifies the central key themes with possible research directions, in the area of electronic money, mobile money, authentication, security, Internet of things, blockchain, FinTech, mobile banking and Covid – 19.   Originality/value:  The findings of this study may be used by policymakers to inform the design of digital payment systems, policy initiatives, and other policy measures. Banking, financial planning, and investment management professionals would understand the rising concerns completely. Therefore, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers will use the current literature while doing fresh research on the Payments system's strengths and weaknesses.