SCAI: USER ACCEPTANCE OF A SHARIAH-COMPLIANT CONVERSATIONAL AGENT FOR PROMOTING ISLAMIC FINANCIAL LITERACY AMONG MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/JISTM.1144047Keywords:
Conversational AI, Educational Chatbot, Islamic Financial Literacy, Mobile Learning, SCAI, Takaful Awareness, User AcceptanceAbstract
Although Islamic financial literacy remains critical for underserved communities, existing educational resources are largely static, and dedicated conversational AI platforms capable of delivering accessible, bilingual, and Shariah-compliant financial education remain limited. To address this gap, this study presents the development and user acceptance evaluation of SCAI, a Shariah-Compliant Conversational Agent that uniquely integrates conversational AI, structured educational modules, bilingual language support, voice interaction, and accessibility features into a single Shariah-compliant platform for promoting Islamic financial literacy and Takaful awareness among marginalized communities. Developed in collaboration with the Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA), the application was designed using user-centred design principles and underwent expert review prior to user evaluation. A mixed-method summative evaluation involving 33 questionnaire respondents and 10 focus group discussion participants was conducted using constructs adapted from the USE Questionnaire (Lund, 2001) and the Questionnaire for User Interaction Satisfaction (QUIS) (Wallace et al., 1988), covering Usefulness, Ease of Use, Ease of Learning, Satisfaction, Interface and Interaction Quality, and Accessibility and Trust. Mean scores across the six constructs ranged from 3.25 to 3.66 (out of 4), with 91.5% to 100% of responses indicating agreement or strong agreement, reflecting high levels of perceived usability, satisfaction, and trust. Participants reported that SCAI supported their perceived understanding of Takaful concepts, was easy to use and learn, and provided a positive and trustworthy interaction experience through its chatbot and educational features. The findings also highlighted the value of bilingual support, accessibility features, and conversational interaction in supporting user engagement and learning. Overall, the results indicate that SCAI is a practical, user-friendly, and promising platform for supporting Islamic financial literacy and Takaful awareness. This study contributes to the growing body of research on conversational AI in education and provides insights into the potential of AI-powered applications for supporting public awareness of Takaful and Islamic finance.
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