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Top1. Introduction
Historically, financial processes and transactions are done by physical visits to banks, verbal communication, or certain structured formal writing and formats (Rahman et al., 2015; Nayeem, 2017). With the advent of Internet applications and technologies, the majority of customers are fascinated with mobile-based applications for acquiring services. Customers hunt for convenience in banking services because of the rapid pace of digitization and widespread use of web-based applications in business (AbuShanab et al., 2010; Vyas, 2012; Bhalla & Singh, 2014; Musa and Abbad, 2018). Internet banking (IB) became important because customers do not want to spend long-hours in banks (Kumar & Anand, 2017). Moreover, larger segment of the customers are Millennials and Generation Z, who demand convenient and fast-paced services. The click-and-mortar model supported the transformation of conventional banking transactions including funds transfer, balance check, deposits, utility bill payments, credit card and debit card, and statement collection. Customers need only a computer, or smart phone with an Internet connection to benefit from Internet banking services 24/7.
The key drivers of IB growth are related to customers’ convenience and efficiency in operations to the banking sector (Soloiman, 2013; Lusaya & Kalmuba, 2018). With the current Corona virus outbreak, Internet is the savior. This huge jump in the Internet adoption made it necessary for the banks to encourage their customers to adopt IB (Janjua et al., 2016). Moreover, given the growing trend of e-shopping, Internet banking can help customers to integrate their various financial transactions and have a better record of their expenses (Chauhan & Choudhary, 2015; Geva, 2018). Banks in Qatar are no exception from the world’s banking system. The industry in Qatar is moving fast towards online banking adoption. Accordingly, this research aims to unlock the potentials for similar studies and identify the factors influencing the adoption process of IB.
This study is important given the growing trend of web-based applications and fast paced digitization. It is important for banks to understand consumer’s behavior regarding IB, and the perceived risks and challenges from the banking sector’s perspective. By conducting an in-depth research on the challenges facing customers in the adoption of IB, better-informed perspective can be gathered to identify opportunities to gain trust of consumers with online service. Moreover, this study will gain insightful perspectives regarding the risks related to IB, and its risks on customer’s confidence in the service. This study deployed the extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology framework as presented by Venkatesh et al. (2012) to identify how customers may perceive the adoption of Internet banking technology. This study aims to understand the IB adoption context, where it tries to answer the following questions: