Abstract
M.Comm.
This dissertation reports on the findings of a study conducted in order to understand the
factors that impact on retail bank customers‘ attitudes towards and usage of internet and cell
phone banking services in Gauteng, South Africa. A conceptual model based on the
Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) plus other variables including trust, subjective norm
and demographic variables was used to help understand factors that impact on adoption of
electronic banking.
Data was collected from customers of the four biggest banks in South Africa namely ABSA,
Standard Bank, First National Bank and Nedbank. A total of 394 usable responses were
obtained. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyse the data. A
number of statistical tools were used in the analysis including descriptive statistics,
correlation analysis correlation analysis, regression analysis and independent sample ttesting.
The findings of the study reveal that customers‘ attitude towards internet and cell phone
banking contributes significantly to customer‘s intention to start using or continue using
internet and cell phone banking services. The findings also show that while differences in
attitude may exist between customers across different demographic groups, demographic
factors, alone, are weak predictors of attitude. The study found that perceived usefulness,
perceived ease of use and trust; significantly contribute to customers‘ attitude towards
internet and cell phone banking. Of these variables, trust emerged as the most important
predictor of attitude towards internet and cell phone banking while the subjective norm was
found to be the weakest predicator of attitude. The findings have wider implications on
efforts aimed at attracting more customers to start using or continue using internet or cell
phone banking services. The implications have also been discussed and suggestions for
future research made.