Libyan bank customers' attitude towards the use of electronic banking services

Abstract EN

Bank customers‟ acceptance of using electronic banking services (e-banking) is a challenging problem for many banks.

The use of e-banking services in developed countries is a very popular way, however, the case is different in the less developed countries, such as Libya.

Even though Libyan banks have introduced many types of e-banking services within their banking services delivery strategy, Libyan bank customers are still using traditional banking delivery channels.

This is largely due to bank customers‟ concern of issues connected with e-banking technology.

In reviewing the literature in the wider domains of bank customers‟ attitude towards the acceptance of e-banking technology, to date there have been many empirical research studies on the issues of technology acceptance in the developed world, but these have been sparse in the Arab regions, including Libya.

Thus, this paper aims to bridge this gap by investigating key factors affecting Libyan bank customers‟ acceptance of e - banking services, as a step necessary in setting up successful e- banking projects in Libya.

To fulfill the research aim, an interpretive research approach was adopted for this study.

As a result, a research qualitative method which is aligned with the interpretive research philosophy was selected.

This paper draws on findings from prior literature on technological developments in the banking industry.

As well as findings from semi–structured interviews with some bank customers of a commercial bank in Libya.

The data was based on Libyan bank customers‟ perceptions of factors that might affect their decisions as to whether or not to conduct e-banking services.

A number of factors (e.g.

system ease of use and usefulness, privacy issues, lack of IT knowledge, security issues, bank reputation, technical and legal support, and bank transactional difficulty) influencing bank customers‟ attitudes towards the acceptance e-banking technology are identified.