Customer perceptions of online banking service quality and its relationship with customer satisfaction and loyalty

Abstract

In today's fast-paced business environment, rendering quality service to customers has become crucially important to any organisation and banks are no exception. The rapid advancement in technology-based systems, especially those related to the Internet, has led to fundamental changes in how banks interact with customers. This study provides insights on a framework for understanding customer perceptions of the quality of technology-based banking service and the relationship with customer satisfaction and loyalty in a developing country. A structured questionnaire containing 37 variables relating to online banking service quality was administered to two hundred Internet banking customers in Southern Gauteng in South Africa (SA). Using a factor analysis procedure seven factors that influence customer perception of online banking service quality were extracted. These factors were assurance, responsiveness, ease of use, accessibility, fulfilment, speed and accuracy, and contact. The relationship among the constructs of online banking service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty was established by using correlations and regression analysis. The findings provide evidence that the seven dimensions of technology based service quality positively influence customer satisfaction and loyalty. The results show that periodic measurements of the levels of online banking service quality should become an integral part of any bank's effort and strategy in improving service quality levels.