<span>From E-Wallet Adoption to E-Wallet Dependence: Is Malaysia Becoming the Cashless Society?</span>

The rapid development of digital payment technologies has transformed the way consumers conduct everyday financial transactions. In Malaysia, e-wallets have progressed from an emerging FinTech innovation to an increasingly integrated component of the country's payment ecosystem. Existing academic literature has predominantly examined e-wallet adoption through technology acceptance, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trust, security, social influence and behavioural intention. While these perspectives have provided important explanations for the initial acceptance of digital payment technologies, the increasing frequency and breadth of e-wallet usage raise a broader question concerning what occurs after adoption. This article argues that the academic discussion should increasingly move beyond e-wallet adoption towards the concepts of continuance, habit and behavioural dependence. Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model, Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, expectation-confirmation theory and literature concerning cashless payments, this article develops a conceptual perspective on the transition from e-wallet adoption to e-wallet dependence in Malaysia. The article examines the evolution of e-wallet adoption, generational differences, usage frequency and intensity, consumer convenience, cash displacement, financial inclusion and the risks associated with increasing dependence on digital payment infrastructure. It proposes that adoption alone is insufficient to determine whether a society is becoming cashless. Rather, the extent to which digital payments become habitual, preferred and difficult to substitute may provide a more meaningful indication of behavioural transformation. The article concludes that Malaysia is moving towards a digitally dominant payment environment, but the transition to a genuinely cashless society should be evaluated alongside considerations of resilience, consumer protection, financial inclusion, cybersecurity and access to alternative payment mechanisms.