Customer adoption and use of the electronic statement service in online banking

Abstract

This study investigated the adoption and use of emailed statements (e-statement) in the South African electronic banking context. This study examined the factors that influence e-statement adoption and use in an electronic banking context .The main theories used as the basis for the model were: Diffusion of Innovation, Technology Acceptance Model, Technology Resistance Theory and the Service Quality Theory. Other theories explored were the Theory of Reasoned Action, Theory of Planned Behaviour, Task Technology Fit and the Media Richness Theory. Green banking and Green IT were used to understand the role of environmental concern in the adoption of electronic statements. A positivist deductive case study approach was used in which 25 customers of Blue Sky Bank were interviewed during June and July 2016 through purposive sampling. In order to gain a better understanding of Blue Sky Bank’s e-statement initiative, key strategic project management documents were also analysed. Results indicate that while there has been a shift from printed to e-statements, participants preferred to view their online statements, accessed from the mobile app and internet banking platform. Further analysis revealed that the security of the e-statement service was supported while relative advantage, facilitating conditions, environmental concern, and resistance were rejected as antecedents to the adoption and use of e-statements. Trust was only partially supported. Two interesting findings were gathered from this study. Firstly, the motivation behind converting from posted to e-statements was not based on the negative environmental impact of paper, but rather from the convenience that comes with making use of electronic statements. Surprisingly, users are not actively engaged in being environmentally conscious despite the media attention and emphasis that has been placed by organisations. Although users understood the importance of being environmentally conscious, this did not motivate them to change to their adoption practices. Secondly, the study did not support the proposition that women trust technology less than men. Findings also revealed that the main reason as to why participants preferred online statements accessed from the mobile application and internet banking platforms was because of the retrospective nature of the e-statements that are sent. For example, the historical nature of the transactions that appear on the e-statements makes it difficult to use for budgeting purposes. Also, e-statements are static, and one cannot search, filter and sort financial information as compared to online statements Real-time updates are also not available on e-statements and therefore participants are unable to use the e-statement for querying purposes as the financial information. This study makes several contributions to the body of knowledge on electronic banking services. Firstly, this study adds to the depth of the research that has been conducted on the e-statement service. Secondly, this study contributes to IS research by providing a conceptual model and a revised model that tested the factors that influence the adoption and use of e-statements. In addition, the revised model also provides a list of the factors researchers should focus on should they wish to gain more insight into the adoption and use of e-statements. Thirdly, this study provides a practical contribution for banking managers by recommending that they should focus on improving the utility of the e-statement service. Emphasis should be placed on the usability of the e-statement service such as making sure that it is interactive and that it supports search and filter functionality. Future research can focus on longitudinal, in-depth comparative adoption and use studies of e-statements across multiple financial institutions. Alternative research methods such as usability testing and experiments can also be conducted to assess the journey of an end-user as they transition from posted to e-statements. Practitioners can improve the overall adoption and use of the e-statement system by involving end-users early in the design phase.