Mobile Banking - Giants Move In

In most developing countries there are possibly many more mobile phone users than there are bank account holders. This ubiquitous nature of mobile terminals will position them as the preferred access point for ‘anytime, anywhere’ services (Cyr et al 2006). Yet, in spite of advancements in cellular technology such as increased bandwidth and packet switching (Lee et al 2003), researchers acknowledge that mobile communication technologies present new challenges for diffusion to both banks and users (Harker and Van Akken 2002; Sugai 2005). High penetration rates of mobile devices have not been matched by a high uptake in mobile commerce (Khalifa and Ning Shen 2008).

That may change. At the recent GSMA Mobile World Conference held in Barcelona key industry heavyweights including Vodafone and Nokia signalled their intention to provide platforms for mobile banking. Many are motivated by the resounding success of M-PESA in Kenya. Researchers are keen to establish antecedents to the behavioural intention to adopt mobile banking. The latest interest from the telecommunications community will be watched very closely.

References:
Cyr, D., Head, M. And Ivanov, A. (2006) Design Aesthetics leading to m-loyalty in mobile commerce, Information & Management 43, pp. 950-963

Harker, D. and Van Akkeren, J. (2002) Exploring the needs of SMEs for mobile data technologies: the role of qualitative research techniques, Quantitative Market Research: An International Journal, 5(3), pp. 199-209

Khalifa, M. And Ning Shen, K. (2008) Explaining the adoption of transactional B2C mobile commerce, Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 21(2), pp. 110-124

Lee, Y., Kozar K.A. and Larsen, K.R.T. (2003) The Technology Acceptance Model: Past, Present, and the Future, Communications of the AIS, 12, pp. 752-780

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