Cash Still King: SLIIT Study Exposes Sri Lanka's Digital Trust Gap 📈

A new study by SLIIT Business School published in a top Springer Nature journal reveals that while Sri Lanka’s digital economy is expanding, cash-on-delivery remains the preferred choice due to a significant trust gap in online transactions. • Core Findings: Consumer confidence in e-commerce goes beyond discounts or marketing. It is heavily driven by platform quality, vendor system security, website reliability, privacy protection, and payment authentication. • Key Consumer Barriers: Shoppers remain deeply cautious about online payments due to fears of financial information misuse, weak data protection, fake products, delayed refunds, and payment failures. • Industry Impact: For sectors driving economic diversification like ICT/BPM and digital retail, trust is now a business priority, not just a technical feature. Long-term sustainability requires heavy investment in secure payment gateways and transparent privacy practices rather than just sales promotions. • Recommendations: The study urges stronger collaboration between policymakers and businesses to enforce data protection frameworks, update consumer safety regulations, and boost public awareness on digital security.