Adoption of Electronic Banking by Iranian Customers (Masters Thesis in E-Commerce & Marketing)

In the world of banking, the development in information technology has had an enormous effect on development of more flexible payment methods and more- user friendly banking services. Electronic banking services are new, and the development and diffusion of these technologies by financial institutions is expected to result in a more efficient banking system. This technology offers institutions alternative or non-traditional delivery channels through which banking products and services can be delivered to customers more conveniently and economically without diminishing the existing services level. In recent years, some Iranian banks have started to offer electronic banking services to their customers. This study therefore, was conducted to develop an understanding of customer’s attitude and adoption of electronic banking. Based on random samples: demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral characteristics of the users of Mellat bank from governmental sector and Saman bank from private sector were examined. The results are presented in details. The statistical analyses revealed significant differences between demographic profiles and attitudes of users. Overall, branch counter was the most frequently adopted channel, followed by ATM and electronic banking, telephone bank and e-mail bank was the least frequently adopted channel. Demographical characteristics were strongly associated with adoption of electronic banking. Perceptions of relative advantages were found to influence the adoption of electronic banking services. The result shows that security concerns and lack of awareness about electronic banking and technical knowledge stand out as being obstacles to the adoption of electronic banking and these results suggest some measures to address these impediments. These measures could help in rapid lure of more customers to users group, resulting in considerable savings in operating costs for banks. The study provides an updated account of the electronic banking behaviors of Iranian customers and contributes to the literature on electronic banking in an Iranian economy. Furthermore, the specific strategy that banks could follow to maximize efficacy of provided services is that banks need to put much efforts on privatization process.