User acceptance of Malaysian government multipurpose smartcard applications W.H. Loo a , Paul H.P. Yeow a, ⁎, S.C. Chong b a Faculty of Business and Law, Multimedia University, Jalan Ayer Keroh Lama, 75450 Melaka, Malaysia b Putra International College, Ayer Keroh, 75450 Melaka, Malaysia abstract article info Available online 30 January 2009 Keywords: Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) Multipurpose national identity card Intention to use Electronic government Smartcard The study explores the extent of user acceptance of the national identity card (NIC) and driving license (DL) applications embedded in the Malaysian government multipurpose smartcard (called MyKad). A research framework was developed based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. Two hundred questionnaires were randomly distributed to respondents in the Multimedia Super Corridor, Malaysia. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The research discovered that Malaysians do not have high intentions to use MyKad NIC and DL applications. The reasons being lack of understanding of MyKad's benefits (e.g. more secure and reliable NIC and DL, and less invasion of privacy, forgery, and identity theft), lack of facilitating conditions (e.g. non-availability of card readers during checks and non-recognition of MyKad) and anxiety of damaging the card due to excessive use. Consequently, there is a lack of social support (e.g. influence from peer group) and credibility of using the applications. The research had successfully adapted UTAUT model to study the user acceptance of MyKad applications. Recommendations were given to increase the acceptance rate and to resolve the discovered issues. The research can be replicated to investigate the acceptance of smart NIC and DL used in the US, the UK, China, India, and Hong Kong. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Many governments have enhanced the infrastructure and services provided to their citizens (Kim, Pan, & Pan, 2007). The introduction of electronic government (e-government) projects, for instance, is a move undertaken by governments to become more service oriented; focusing on the implementation as well as the widespread digital services through one-stop points of access for citizens (Anthopoulos et al., 2007). As such, it is not surprising that such developments have attracted cross-disciplinary research interests and attentions. For example, Dawes, Pardo, and Cresswell (2003) studied and identified the dimensions of designing e-government information access programs. Schedler and Summermatter (2007) explored the needs of citizens in order to create usable websites for online government transactions. Shi (2007) studied the accessibility of Chinese e-government websites. Given this background, the present study focuses on the acceptance and adoption of the Malaysian government-initiated, multipurpose smart national identity card (NIC) (with its driving license (DL) applications) among urban citizens in the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), popularly referred to as “Silicon Valley” of Malaysia. The change of the identity formats and its functions vary enormously throughout the years (Privacy International, 1996). In the most recent format, smart NIC was introduced. Malaysia is the first country in the world to introduce a multipurpose smart NIC (in September, 2001), popularly known as MyKad or Malaysian Card (see Fig. 1)(RFID News, 2004). MyKad is a standard, credit-card-sized plastic token with an embedded microchip that stores and accesses information including cardholder's biometric data such as fingerprints (Hiltz, Han, & Briller, 2003). The initial version of MyKad contained a 32 kB EEPROM (Electricity Erasable, Programmable, Read-Only Memory) chip running on the M-COS (MyKad Chip Operating System). In November 2002, the memory capacity was increased to 64 kB to allow more applications to be added into MyKad (Jaring Internet Magazine, 2005). In addition, MyKad has a dual-interface chip which allows contact and contactless access. It also utilizes biometric technology so that the cardholder's thumbprints are encrypted in its chip (unlike the old national identity card where thumbprints of the holder are visually seen on the surface of the card). MyKad enables electronic verification by comparing the thumbprints in the chip with the actual thumbs placed on a scanner, which is more accurate than visual verification performed by the old NIC. MyKad currently incorporates nine applications including the NIC, DL, passport information, health information, electronic purse, automated teller machine (ATM) access, transit application (named as Touch N Go), public key infrastructure (PKI), and frequent traveler card. The use of smart NIC is believed to help in enhancing national security; thus, many nations in Western Europe, Asia, and Middle East, including large countries like China and small countries like Baltic Republic of Estonia, have introduced the card. Even the American and Government Information Quarterly 26 (2009) 358–367 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: loo.wee.hong05@mmu.edu.my (W.H. Loo), hpyeow@mmu.edu.my (P.H.P. Yeow), scchong@iputra.edu.my (S.C. Chong). 0740-624X/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2008.07.004 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Government Information Quarterly journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/govinf