Factors influencing the uptake of mobile phone banking. The case of standard chartered bank, Nyeri branch, Kenya

Abstract

Kenya is said to be a global market leader in mobile money. Mpesa is the leading mobile money transfer service in Kenya with about 18 million clients and 2.1 trillion shillings moved in the year 2014(CAK report 2014). In order to take advantage of increased uptake of mobile technology, cut costs, increase penetration and increase client satisfaction, most banks in Kenya have embraced mobile banking. This study sought to establish factors influencing the uptake of mobile banking. The study was carried out in Standard Chartered Bank, Nyeri Branch, located in Nyeri County in the Republic of Kenya. Reviewed studies have shown that the main factors influencing mobile banking are; Relative Advantage, Perceived Risk, Complexity, Observability and Compatibility (Al- Jabir and Sohail, 2012; Rodgers, 2003; Chen etal., 2004). The objectives of this study were; to establish the influence of Relative Advantage of Mobile Banking on the Uptake of Mobile Banking, to establish the influence of Perceived Risk of Mobile Banking on the Uptake of Mobile Banking, to establish the influence of Complexity of Mobile Banking on the Uptake of Mobile Banking, to establish the influence of Observability of Mobile Banking on the Uptake of Mobile Banking, and to establish the influence of Compatibility of Mobile Banking on the Uptake of Mobile Banking. It sought to find out what clients view as the main factors influencing the uptake of mobile banking innovation in Kenya. The study employed a descriptive survey design. The population consisted of slightly over 3,500 personal banking customers of SCB, Nyeri Branch. A sample of 300 clients who were registered for mobile banking was chosen through probabilistic and non-probabilistic sampling methods to be able to capture the diverse demographic traits on the population. A selfadministered questionnaire was distributed to the respondents. Results were subsequently analysed by use of descriptive statistics tools such as frequency distribution tables and percentages. Correlation analysis was used to establish the strength of association between the variables of interest. The study established that complexity of mobile banking and perceived risk of mobile banking negatively influence the uptake of mobile banking while Relative Advantage of mobile banking, Observability of mobile banking and Compatibility of mobile banking positively influence the uptake of mobile banking. It recommends that the bank management should invest more in advertisement to reach out to more of their unregistered clients. Further, banks should continuously invest in the upgrade of the mobile banking platform to make it more secure and introduce more services for their clients. The results provide further insights into mobile banking strategies to increase the uptake of mobile banking among mobile banking project managers, mobile banking operators and engineers.