Cell phone banking adoption in South Africa

Abstract

Despite the exponential growth in cell phone usage in South Africa, from 13 million subscribers in 2002 to at least 49 million subscribers today, uptake of cell phone banking in the same period lags. Utilising Rogers' innovation adoption framework, this research examines banking consumers' perceptions of cell phone banking attributes, and how these may affect adoption. A survey of 124 cell phone users from Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo Provinces participated in the study. Results indicate an improvement in cell phone banking uptake compared to past years. Perceptions of risk and security concerns appear to slow the adoption rate. While banking institutions have done a lot in launching cell phone banking, focussing attention on in-house promotion and customer demonstrations of cell phone banking may further improve adoption rate.