Digital Inclusion and the Elderly: The Case of Internet Banking Use and Non-Use among older Adults in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

The level of acceptance and use of Internet banking (IB) among older adults is a major issue toward the advancement of banking operations in Nigeria. So far, there has been little or no representation of older adults (60+) in studies conducted on IB adoption and use in Nigeria. Hence, this study investigated the use of IB among older adults in Ekiti State Nigeria. The selection of the sample was made through purposive, convenience, and snowball sampling techniques. Nine local government areas were purposively selected to have a mix of urban and rural areas. Convenience and snowball sampling techniques were used to select 384 older adults, while questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data. Findings reveal that most of the elderly have not adopted the use of IB as they preferred and used the traditional banking system. Those that have adopted IB for their banking transactions averagely used it majorly for funds transfer, bills payment, and airtime top-up. Convenience was the major reason for using IB by the users, while the non-users mentioned unawareness and security concerns as reasons for not using. The users have the intention of continuing using the technology, while the non-users have the intention of using it in the future. It is recommended that banks should intensify efforts at creating awareness of IB as well as its benefits to this group of customers to ensure they are digitally included in the transformations going on in the financial sector.