Overcoming Belief Gaps to Enhance Digital Payment Adoption in Pakistan

Last registered on September 10, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Overcoming Belief Gaps to Enhance Digital Payment Adoption in Pakistan
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016529
Initial registration date
August 07, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
August 08, 2025, 7:24 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
September 10, 2025, 8:41 AM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Farah Said
Affiliation
Lahore University of Management Sciences
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Kashif Malik
PI Affiliation
Lahore University of Management Sciences
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PI Name
Russell Toth
PI Affiliation
University of Sydney
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PI Name
Philip Roessler
PI Affiliation
College of William and Mary
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2025-04-01
End date
2027-04-01
Keywords
Finance & Microfinance, Firms & Productivity
Additional Keywords
financial inclusion, digital payment systems
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This project aims to investigate and address belief gaps between merchants and consumers regarding the transition from cash to digital merchant payments in Pakistan. We document mismatched perceptions between retail merchants and consumers about each other's preferences to switch from cash to digital merchant payments.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Malik, Kashif et al. 2025. "Overcoming Belief Gaps to Enhance Digital Payment Adoption in Pakistan." AEA RCT Registry. September 10. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16529-2.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We will test three interventions. One, we will test if take-up is influenced by information on the preference for digital payment by the counterparty. Two, we will test if take-up of digital means for payment can be incentivised information on the preference for digital payment by the counterparty, but also informing that we have informed the counterparty of their preference as well. Third, we will test if motivating take-up requires financial incentives to both the merchant and their customer.
Intervention Start Date
2025-06-20
Intervention End Date
2025-09-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Take-up of digital payment methods.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
More detail to be posted in PAP.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
More detail to be posted in PAP.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment will be conducted in dense urban markets and consists of merchants and househplds being allocated to three intervention groups or a control group. We will conduct a baseline and endline surveys to collect self-reported data on behavior and preferences.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization will be done by a computer.
Randomization Unit
We will define geographical units that correspond to 'markets' or shopping clusters.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
280 markets
Sample size: planned number of observations
1120 merchants and 1120 households
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
71 markets in the control group, 70 in each of the three treatment groups, approximately 4 merchants and 4 households corresponding to each market.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Institutional Review Board, Lahore University of Management Sciences
IRB Approval Date
2025-02-21
IRB Approval Number
LUMS-IRB-Ext/02212025/KZM-00030383
Analysis Plan

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