Influence of information communication and technology on customer retention in financial institutions: a case of the Kenya commercial bank in Nairobi county

Abstract

Information and communication technology (ICT) is regarded as a great invention owing to its ability of automating a large percentage of the work done by human beings. Unfortunately when products and services are designed they do not work ideally as intended leading to quality issues which curtail satisfaction by end users as well as recipients of products and services provided through ICT platforms. The main objective of this study was to investigate the influence of Information and communication technology (ICT) on customer retention in financial institutions using the case of Kenyan commercial bank. The specific objectives were to explore the influence of card system on the customer retention in Kenya Commercial Bank, to investigate the influence of mobile banking on customer retention in Kenya Commercial Bank, to determine the influence of agency banking on customer retention in the Kenya Commercial Bank and to examine the influence of internet banking on customer retention in Kenya Commercial Bank. The research took the form of a descriptive research design. The population of interest was staff and customers of Kenya Commercial Bank. The study used stratified and simple random probability sample procedures. The target population consisted of 4160 mobile banking customers of KCB, 1920 who used agency banking, 960 who used internet banking and 2560 and those using utilizing the card system. A correlation relation was used in the study. The research used both qualitative and quantitative research approaches with questionnaire as a data collection tools. The study found out that lCT has a positive effect on customer retention of the four factors tested, whereby internet banking, mobile banking, agency banking and card system all have a significant effect on customer retention. It is therefore imperative for bank management to put strategies so as increase ATM machines in every part of the country to satisfy their customers, put in place wireless and cost effective mobile banking, review procedures and policies on agency banking such as financial inclusion so as to reach certain cliché of the population and ensure that internet banking by e-mail or service lineshould be worked on promptly to retain customers. Since the results of this study are majorly based on consumers' perceptions only, future research should investigate Influence of Information Communication and Technology on Customer Retention in other banks in Kenya to establish more on the factors influencing customer retention in other banks. This will help the industry to better understand whether both consumers and banks have the same perceptions regarding issues relevant to customer retention.