Exploring Motivations and Barriers for Mobile Banking Adoption: A Qualitative Approach

The rapid proliferation of mobile phones and other electronic gadgets has not only changed the way people live, but also created a new channel for marketing. One such new technology is the mobile banking development, which can significantly impact a bank’s operational efficiency and customer service aspects. Yet, the adoption of mobile banking in the Asian region has been relatively slow compared to West. One might question, for instance, will mobile banking be as effective as other medium for banking transaction given its limited textual presentation? What do consumers think about mobile banking services? What drives or hinders consumers from adopting mobile banking services? Managerial understanding of such knowledge can aid bank managers, government, and other policy agencies interested in promoting mobile banking usage. This research aims to explore the underlying motives of mobile banking services adoption. Three sessions of focus group interviews were conducted and the results suggest that perceived advantage over other mediums, perceived risk, usage complexity, past experience and awareness are potentially influencing the adoption of mobile banking. Our findings regarding the influence of the number of users adopting the same service is novel as this phenomenon (i.e., network externalities) that borrowed from economics has been largely neglected in the marketing literature. The paper concludes with implications to marketing and promoting mobile banking services.