The Influence of Civil Servants on Online Loan Aggregator Platforms

This MBA research project investigates the factors influencing Malaysian civil servants' intention to use online loan aggregator platforms, specifically focusing on the MyAzZahra portal. The study examines the impact of Fintech on the cooperative credit landscape and explores the application of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), considering factors such as perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, trust, and attitude towards technology. The research aims to identify the key drivers and barriers to adoption, providing insights into the low acceptance rate of these platforms among government servants. The project also assesses the performance of cooperatives in Malaysia, the role of microfinance, and the significance of digital transformation in the financial sector. The research employs a case study approach, analyzing the MyAzZahra platform's features and offerings to understand how they influence users' behavior and loan application decisions. The study's findings are expected to provide valuable information for the National Cooperative Movement and other stakeholders in the financial industry, offering insights into improving user engagement and platform adoption.

THE OTHMAN YEOP ABDULLAH GRADUATE SCHOOL OF
BUSINESS (OYAGSB)
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
ODMR6013 - BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODS
RESEARCH TITLE:
THE INFLUENCES OF CIVIL SERVANTS ATTITUDE ON
INTENTION TO USE ONLINE LOAN AGGREGATOR PLATFORM:
A CASE STUDY OF MYAZZAHRA PORTAL
SEMESTER : FIRST SESSION 2020/2021 (201)
PROGRAMME : MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA)
GROUP NAME : ANGKASA (A)
PREPARED FOR : ASSOC. PROF. DR ZAEMAH ZAINUDDIN
PREPARED BY : NURHANA BINTI ZAHRULLAIL
STUDENT ID : 826736
DATELINE : 18th APRIL 2021

DECLARATION OF OWN WORK
Name : NURHANA ZAHRULLAIL
Matric No : 826736
Title of Research: The Influence of Civil Servants Attitude on Intention to use Online
Loan Aggregator Platform
I confirm that the above work was solely undertaken by myself and that no help was
provided from other sources as those allowed. All sections of the paper that use quotes or
describe an argument or concept developed by another author have been referenced,
including all secondary literature used, to show that this material has been adopted to
support my work.
I understand that any false claim for this work will be penalized in accordance with the
University regulations.
Signature
Date : 4th March 2021
TABLE OF CONTENT
ABSTRACT 4
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEMS IDENTIFICATION 5
1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 5
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT 7
1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 8
1.4 SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION 8
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 9

1.6 FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY 10
1.7 THE TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL (TAM) 10
Perceived Ease of Use 11
Perceived Usefulness 11
Trust 12
Attitude towards Using Technology 12
Behavioral Intention to Use 13
CHAPTER TWO: THE PAST AND PRESENT: AN OVERVIEW 14
2.1 ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE OF CO-OPERATIVES IN MALAYSIA 14
2.2 COOPERATIVES AND MICROFINANCE: ANY REVOLUTION? 16
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 18
3.1 hypothesis and research model 18
3.2 DATA AND SURVEY INSTRUMENT 20
3.3 DATA COLLECTION and analysis 21
REFERENCES 23
ABSTRACT
With competition from online lenders and web aggregators offering near microloans
especially for credit cooperatives are focusing on digital experiences with the development of
financial technology (Fintech) in Malaysia give significance impact that will make lending
easy and more accessible to The Malaysian Co-operative Movement. Most of financial
institutions has been move from a traditional transaction into online transaction. Now,
customer can apply a personal financing through online and it replace the conventional way of
application form walk in at the counter. As a result, the MyAzZahra site was created to serve

as an online loan aggregator for cooperative credit society unions. To ensure that they meet
industry trends, all credit cooperative unions have been gathered into a single platform. The
aim of this thesis is to look at Malaysian government servants' attitudes toward using a loan
aggregator website. Customer retention and engagement are top priorities for a service
company. Rapid developments in the Fintech sector are disrupting the financial services
environments, posing both opportunities and challenges for customers and service providers.
From artificial intelligence to bitcoin, the Fintech industry is transforming the financial
services landscapes, creating both opportunities and challenges for consumers and service
providers and regulators alike
Keyword: Online Loan Aggregator, Fintech, Cooperative Credit, Microloans, Civil Servants
and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEMS IDENTIFICATION
1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Nowadays, the financial technology (fintech) has emerged with the aim to improve and
automate the conventional process to smooth operations (Chishti & Barberis 2016; Nicoletti
et al 2017). Studies by Lee and Shin (2018) explained the use of fintech helps the
organizations in their daily operation by utilizing technology advancement and algorithm.
Other studies by Kajan (2020), believes that when fintech emerged it applied for back-end
operation and being used by financial institutions. Gomber et al (2018) elaborate that
previously people thought that the bank business will never die if they have a many branches
and government support.

Meanwhile, Kaufan (2014) explained the myths of "too big to fail" (TBTF) theory asserts that
certain corporations, particularly financial institutions, are so large and so interconnected that
their failure would be disastrous to the greater economic system, and that they therefore must
be supported by governments when they face potential failure. According to Westerman et al
(2018), with an innovation in a financial sector lead the increasing number of investment
where most of financial institutions are heavily investing in technology and they are going to
transform their business. Let me begin with a question: How financial institutions can be
successful in their transformation? The answer is a big data. It is a customer analytic, real-
time and predictive analytics. Big data technologies being used to collect, organize, process
and analyse a large set of data. The aims are to find a pattern and create a value information of
these data. The analysed data is important because it gives a relevant information needed for
decision making process.
Herbert (2017) discussed the use of this technology has been shifted from a back end oriented
to a consumer-oriented to give a convenience to the customers. Habidin et al (2020) stated
that cooperatives are regarded as significant employers and investors were collectively
constitute a significant component of Malaysia's social and economic ecosystems.
Cooperatives contribute greatly to the national economy as an integral component of the
social and economic communities. Their social and economic activities are regarded as
important as those made by businesses and non-profit organizations. In Malaysia, the
cooperative model of micro-lending is proving to be extremely popular, as co-operative
institutions make use of local economic capital and play an important role in mobilizing
micro-savings and micro-lending (Joseph, Vazhacharickal & Salih 2020).
Cooperative loans in Malaysia (commonly known as Pinjaman Koperasi in Malay) are credit
services provided by 478 credit cooperatives registered with the Cooperative Commission of
Malaysia (SKM) to their members who earn daily salary income, especially in the public
sector, legislative and private bodies. coops have been received a code for salary deduction
from ANGKASA (Musa et al, 2020). Hassan, Samad, & Shafii (2018) stated that there are
many credit coops are offering a financing product to the government servant. The rate is
competitive in the market and the procedure is more linen. Moreover, the Congress of Unions
of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (CUEPACS) accepts these loans because they
help civil servants overcome financial difficulties and reduce loan shark borrowing (The Star,
dated 14th June 2019). As a result, ANGKASA denied any participation in the suspected
syndicated loan scheme, alleging that the syndicate used the ANGKASA name and logo to
deceive many civil servants.

ANGKASA has taken the initiative to partner with Orion IXL Berhad through its subsidiaries
to explore a loan aggregator website, namely the MyAzZahra portal's,
https://www.myazzahra.com/ in order to ensure that the credit cooperative movement is on
par with financial institutions. MyAzZahra portals serve as an aggregator of cooperative
finance goods, allowing applicants to pick and select the products best meet their needs and
apply directly to the cooperatives through the portal. Its offerings include FinTech-based
Loan Management Systems, call centre services, financial consulting, and system integration,
among others. MyAzZahra portals were crucial in the development of cooperative enterprise
and, eventually, a larger community.
The MyAzZahra portal's financing application system gives applicants a considerable
advantage in terms of choosing, applying, and monitoring their applications in an easy, fast,
secure, and straightforward atmosphere, as well as reducing the involvement of middlemen or
brokers and avoiding potential fraud, violence, and wrongdoing by credit firms or loan sharks
(Othman et al 2018). According to research conducted by Malaysian civil servants, low
acceptance of online loan platforms is attributed to a lack of understanding after one year of
operation. As a result, the aim of this paper is to examine the characteristics of customers
(borrowers) among public servants who plan to use an online loan aggregator site. About the
increased use of technology for microfinance loans, little study has been done on the factors
that drive cooperative members to apply for loans electronically.
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
"FinTech" or a compound term of Financial Technology refers as a newly emerged industry
that utilizes IT-centered technologies which aims to boost the efficiency of the financial
ecosystem. Since its inception, FinTech has successfully established its presence in the global
financial industry due to the benefits and advantages of the system. In October 2018, Orion
and Sukaniaga Sdn Bhd entered into an agreement with Angkasa, Malaysia’s national co-
operative movement, to provide a fintech end-to-end loan application and approval platform
called MyAngkasa Az-Zahra (MyAzZahra) for its credit co-operatives to offer microloans to
government staff and targeting the platform-MyAzZahra to handle the approvals for RM1
billion microloans. However, the research studies that highlight the importance of FinTech are
scarce. Specifically, the study pertaining to the consumers' attitude towards FinTech products
and services which is microloans application from credit cooperatives to the government
servants remains unexplored by most of the studies. There is also got situation where they
unable to change because of the requirement of the support system. For example, is where

there are coops that want to change but their fund is come from financial institution and they
still required a physical form of loan applications. Not only that, but the resistance also come
from customer where they prefer to deal with offline transaction rather than go online. There
are many restrictions such as afraid with the security of online transaction, not a tech savvy,
facing difficulties, and many other factors. Sometimes, the process is failed to meet their ideal
expectations. This is a normal effect of innovation resistance when doing a change. The
adoption rate of new young generation is greater than their parents.
1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
From the preceding highlighted issues, the key goal of this analysis is to examine the
evolution of the major digital technology- MyAzZahra portals with enhancement of new
offerings such as marketplace, unified contact centre, business-to-business (B2B) framework
(cooperative borrowings from financial institutions), digital wallet or e-wallet facility, and
payment and collection gateway.
RO 1: To identify the potential factors that influence consumers' intention to adopt
online loan aggregator platform.
RO 2: To examine the positive impact of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness,
trust, and user innovation for attitude towards using an online loan aggregator
platform and the positive impact of attitude towards use for behavioral intention
to use online loan aggregator platform
1.4 SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION
This paper employs MyAzZahra, an award-winning “Digital Financial Services” (DFS)
platform for public servants, as a research object to investigate the key factors that influence
lenders' loan confidence. It also investigates the effects of these influences on lending intent.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The Malaysian National Cooperative Movement (MNCM) was active in developing
MyAzZahra Portal, which provides digitalization of the online loan application process for
cooperatives that provide an integrated cooperative credit scheme as well give convenience to
the cooperative members in Malaysia where they can have access to all those information’s
regarding loan financing provides by cooperative movements. The applicant can assess the
portal from anywhere and anytime. They can apply personal financing through online without

need to walk-in physically to coop office. The target market is 90% government e-services by
ANGKASA. The user of the loan aggregator platform can view the list of cooperatives that
provide loan, compare the rate, choose whichever suit with their criteria and make the
application through online.
The platform been developed to become the first coop’s loan aggregator platform. The main
functions of MyAzZahra Portal are an aggregator of coop’s financing products where the
Malaysian government servants can freely choose whichever products that suit their needs
and make the application directly to the respective cooperatives via the portal. The financing
application system provided by MyAzZahra Portal gives the applicant significant advantage
to choose, apply and monitor their applications in an easy, fast, safe and transparent
environment. However, the adoption rate among government servants is still low. Therefore,
this research will examine the factors that influence their decision either to use or not to use.
Currently, the process is still semi-manual. Some of the cooperative resist to change from
their manual transaction into online transactions. It is because, they feel comfortable with the
current systems. Finally, the study's importance is to include digitalization of the online loan
processing process for cooperatives that provide an interconnected cooperative credit scheme.
1.6 FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework
1.7 THE TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL (TAM)
PERCEIVED EASE OF USE
PERCEIVED USEFULNESS
BEHAVIOURAL
INTENTION TO
USE
ATTITUDE
TOWARDS
USINGTRUST
USER INNOVATIVENESS

TAM is a theory that describes how people adopt and use a certain technology. Davis
developed the TAM model in 1989 to describe the behavior of computer technology adoption.
The TAM model considers two major constructs to affect behavioral purpose decision about a
technology
Perceived Usefulness and perceived ease of use are the two main structures. The two key
frameworks are used in the initial model to illustrate the impact of behaviors on the
application of a technology and can then be used to explain the actual use of the device. The
two primary structures will then be affected by outside factors.
According to the technology acceptance model (TAM) framework, perceived usefulness and
perceived ease of use have a significant impact on individual behavioral intentions
(Venkatesh & Davis, F.D 1996).
Since the TAM model will continuously explain differences in user intentions and attitudes
toward technology acceptance, it has been considered valid for use in assessing information
technology adoption. One of the TAM model's strengths is its simple model (Venkatesh &
Davis, 2000).This TAM model has been extensively used to study the introduction of
information technologies such as computers, Internet banking, mobile Internet, e-payment,
and e-wallets.
1.7.1 Perceived Ease of Use
The level of consumer trust that the technology easy to learn, easy to control, easy to
understand and clear, flexible, easy to master, and easy to use are some signs that a
technology is simple to use. In the field of fintech, perceived ease of use applies to how
relaxed customers are with using fintech services and putting forward effort in attempting to
learn them Davis, F. D. (1989).
Other metrics relating to the perceived ease of use of fintech applications, according to
another report, were the ease of the operation process and the ease of downloading the app.
The previous research, which was related to the fintech service acceptance study, found that
perceived ease of use has a positive impact on attitudes toward fintech use. Then, in a separate
analysis examining the viewpoints of users of online loan application platforms, it was
discovered that perceived ease of use has a favorable impact on views toward using online
loan aggregator platforms.
1.7.2 Perceived Usefulness

Perceived usefulness is another important factor in the TAM model. Users are likely willing
to adopt if they believe it has some benefits over new technologies, according to the diffusion
theory. In the sense of fintech, people will prefer to use fintech platforms if they believe
fintech solutions will benefit them. Furthermore, according to studies on the adoption of
online loan platforms, the perception of usefulness is described as a person's belief that
performing transactions over the internet can make their daily activities more productive and
successful. The purpose of use the fintech technology, according to the speaker, is the breadth
of user data information and the mapping of user awareness. Several previous studies have
shown that perceptions of usefulness have a favorable impact on attitudes toward the use of
fintech. Another research examining the viewpoints of consumers of online loan applications
found that perceived usefulness has a favorable impact on views toward using online loan
applications.
1.7.3 Trust
Trust can be interpreted that the trustee believes that the party given the trust has good
intentions. Trust in service providers is defined as customer confidence that the service
provider has integrity and is reliable. Trust can be seen in two aspects, namely customer trust
in service providers and trust in the technology used. In the context of the adoption of a
technology, the concept of trust is related to the intention or belief in using the technology. In
another study of fintech, the trust variable is an important factor because it is related to the
personal data needed for the service. Regarding the adoption of fintech lending with a peer-to-
peer form in Malaysia, a study revealed that the trust factor has a significant positive effect on
the adoption of the technology from the investor side. Highly innovative groups of individuals
tend to accept uncertainty about something and have more prejudice to innovate. The nature
of this innovation illustrates the level of willingness of an individual to try something new,
whether a new product or service. Another research stated that the nature of innovation in a
person is an innate trait related to the psychological need for uniqueness, and social
identification plays an important role in that trait. The innovative nature of the user is an
innate trait that can represent one’s personality. In some studies, related to mobile wallet, it is
stated that innovativeness has a significant positive effect on the intention to use the
technology. Related to fintech adoption studies, previous studies have shown that
innovativeness has a positive effect on attitudes towards the use of fintech services.
1.7.4 Attitude towards Using Technology
Attitude (attitude) is something that is felt by the user, both positive and negative feelings,
when they have to do something that has been set. In another definition, attitude is a

subjective assessment and individual tendency related to something. In studies related to
TAM, attitude variables have a relationship with someone's intention to use a technology. In
the study of technology adoption related to the banking world, there is a positive relationship
between user attitudes toward certain technologies with the intention of adopting the
technology. Then, related to the study of adoption of fintech services, attitudes toward use
also have a positive effect on the intention to use fintech services
1.7.5 Behavioral Intention to Use
In the other TAM model construct to analyze the level of adoption of a technology, the user
intention construct is commonly used as the dependent variable in the TAM model. A
person’s intention towards a behavior can represent the actual person's behavior. Behavior
intention to use is defined as the level of one’s intention to perform a particular behavior or
action. Behavioral intention in the previous study was mentioned as an important factor in the
successful adoption of a technology because psychologically a person would not use a
technology if one did not have the intention to use it before. In the context of technology
adoption, the intention to use can be interpreted as the level of someone having the intention
to use the new technology.
CHAPTER TWO: THE PAST AND PRESENT: AN OVERVIEW
2.1 ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE OF CO-OPERATIVES IN MALAYSIA
The National Co-operative Organisation of Malaysia or Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan
Malaysia Berhad (ANGKASA) which is the apex co-operative was established on May 12th,
1971. ANGKASA is the representative of the co-operative movement in Malaysia. It was also
responsible for introducing the principles to the Malaysian co-operative movement (Ungku
Abdul Aziz Abdul Hamid, 1983; ANGKASA, 2006). It is affiliated to the International Co-
operative Alliance (ICA) and as an apex organization, served to guide and assists the
movement development. In 1966, the First Cooperative Congress was held with the goal to
establish a national cooperative union. The aim was to unite all the cooperatives in Malaysia
under one federation for cooperatives.
On 12 May 1971, Angkatan Kerjasama Kebangsaan Malaysia Berhad (ANGKASA) was
officially registered as the national union as a result from the Second Cooperative Congress.
With the inception of ANGKASA as a union of co-operative herald the beginning of a

journey of a united and formidable co-operative movement in Malaysia. Since its
establishment, ANGKASA has played the role as the apex of cooperatives for the Malaysian
cooperative movement. With the approval of the new Cooperative Act in 1993, ANGKASA
was formally recognized by the government of Malaysia to represent the co-operative
movement nationally and internationally. ANGKASA implements co-operative
transformation programs through its participation in high value economy projects.
The government has identified the 7 key economic sectors; Financial Services, Wholesale &
Retail, Tourism & Healthcare, Agriculture & Agro-Base Industry, Plantation,
Telecommunication, and Property Development. ANGKASA continues to carry out its core
service which is providing salary deduction service to the government servants, co-operatives
statutory bodies, clubs, school co-operatives, unions and GLC companies. ANGKASA
maintains to play very active role in the formation and development of school cooperatives in
Malaysia. There are currently more than 12,000 co-operatives and over 7.5 million co-
operators under the stewardship of ANGKASA. The Government launched the 2011 - 2020
National Co-operative Policy and through a tri-partite agreement between Malaysia
Cooperative Societies Commission (MCSC), ANGKASA and Cooperative College of
Malaysia (CCM), ANGKASA has been given the following mandate:
 To unite and represent co-operators in Malaysia at national and international level,
 To stimulate and develop the co-operatives business by identifying new business
areas while developing and strengthening existing business to create a national and
international network,
 To increase the understanding and practices of co-operative values and principles
aligned with ILO Recommendation 193 which recognize co-operatives as a tool for
economic and social development of the community.
As part of the Malaysian Economic Transformation Programme, ANGKASA plans to
spearhead the movement to achieve significant contribution to the Nation’s Gross Domestic
Product. The mechanisms and fundamentals to achieve this will ultimately rest on
ANGKASA - innovativeness and strategies in leveraging available resources and
networks. ANGKASA has positioned itself on the global co-operative platform and has been
entrusted to the Chairmanship as well as hosting the secretariat office of ASEAN Co-
operative Organisation (ACO) and the ICA Asia Pacific Malaysia Business Office (MBO).
With these responsibilities, ANGKASA is unswervingly developing new global economic
total linkages in new partnerships / alliances and networks.