The factors influencing the adoption of mobile banking in South Africa

Abstract

The research study investigated the factors that influence mobile banking adoption in relation to the Extended Living Standards Measure in South Africa. The research was focused on the five big banks in South Africa, constituting around 80% of bank account penetration. Despite South Africa having the highest penetration of mobile connections and highest number of users with bank accounts, the level of mobile banking adoption is still not satisfactory. A structured questionnaire was distributed to 300 respondents with a bank account, and only 203 responses were found suitable for this study. The study adopted the UTAUT model to determine whether Social Influence, Effort Expectancy, Utilitarian Performance Expectancy, Hedonic Performance Expectancy, Self-Efficacy, Facilitating Conditions, Attitude, Risk, Security and Trust influence mobile banking adoption.

The findings of the study suggest that only four variables, namely, Hedonic Performance, Self-Efficacy, Attitude and Risk, are significant and influence the adoption of mobile banking in South Africa. The demographic profiling of respondents falls within ELSM 8 and higher groups in the South African context. Age, Income and Education also significantly influences the adoption of mobile banking.

Self-Efficacy is the most important factor that influences the adoption of mobile banking. The research findings suggest that more theories or variables must be considered to fully understand the influence of mobile banking in this country. The findings from the study are not entirely consistent with the UTAUT model and suggested an updated model be used to further assess the adoption of mobile banking