Applied Quantitative Analysis Available online at: www.researchsynergy.org/quant Volume 1 Number 1 (2021) Article 597 * Corresponding author(s) jianaiyeow@gmail.com; jayeow@mmu.edu.my (Y.J.A.) DOI: 10.31098/quant.597 0000-XXXX/0000-XXXX © Research Synergy Research The use of e-wallet among Gen-Y in Malaysia during the global pandemic: An analysis using PLS-SEM Yeow J. Ai 1,* , Cheah C. Sze 1 , Yeo S. Fern 1 , Tai H. Toong 1 , Chua B. Chian 1 1 Faculty of Business, Multimedia University, Malaysia Abstract Traditionally, everyone uses notes and coins or even credit cards and cheques for all business transactions, resulting in several problems such as inconvenience, inefficiency, and ineffectiveness. The limitation of traditional payment may cause delay in payment, high risk of theft, and fraud transaction. To reduce these problems, an e-wallet is introduced, and it helps to reduce fraud as the data stored in the mobile wallet are encrypted. An owner can reduce the limit and receive notification on any transaction. During the global pandemic, consumers are forced to follow the restriction of movement. Stores in Malaysia are closed, and consumers begin to buy things online aggressively. This study aims to determine the factors that affect the use of e-wallet among Gen-Y during the Global Pandemic using PLS-Sem analysis. Snowball sampling was used to gather 181 respondents via online surveys. This study adopted four variables, i.e., perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, benefits to users, and trust. Of them, two (perceived usefulness and trust) are supported. Keywords: e-wallet; perceived ease of use; perceived usefulness; benefits; trust; Generation Y INTRODUCTION The adoption of e-wallets in Malaysia has grown in the Southeast Asian neighbours in the early stage of the global pandemic. According to Boon [1], the number of Malaysian users of e-wallet increased dramatically during the pandemic. In fact, Malaysia was reported to have the highest e- wallet usage in Southeast Asia at 40%, ahead of the Philippines (36%), Thailand (27%) and Singapore (26%). These numbers were gathered by the MasterCard Impact Study 2020 and, interestingly, the study also indicated that approximately 40% of Malaysians use mobile/e-wallets, followed by debit cards (26%) and contactless credit cards (22%). During the global pandemic, the Malaysian government is running several innovative programs such as ‘E-Tunai’ and ‘E-Penjana’ to encourage the use of the e-wallet and reduce the amount of physical contact. In the 20 th century, many consumers have excessively relied on smartphones for their day-to-day activities. Students, especially Generation Y, are excessively relying on smartphones for their day-to-day and treated them as fundamental to their life. The rise in smartphone penetration will cause a rapid flow of e- commerce. According to a survey conducted by ACI Worldwide or IDC Financial Insights [2], generation Y customers were more interested in the new payment methods. This survey was carried out in 9 countries in Asia Pacific. In Malaysia, 72% of them stated that they had used emerging digital payment systems, while 82% of them had the intention to adopt them in the future [2]. Besides that, Generation Y (Gen Y) is described as 'those born between the mid-1970s and the early 2000s' and Gen Y, also considered the 'internet generation', who have grown up together with the power of the Internet [3]. An existing study [4] had predicted that the student population of