CUSTOMERS’ ADOPTION BEHAVIOUR IN INTERNET BANKING : A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF GHANA AND SWEDEN

Abstract: Internet banking has now become a global phenomenon. It is the fastest growing service that banks can offer in order to gain and retain new customers. However, the issue of adoption behaviour or pattern by final consumers seems to be a pivotal issue in the successful implementation of Internet banking which has benefited people from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and from country to country. In some countries, Internet banking has proven to be very reliable, effective and efficient whilst in some others, they are found to be extremely dormant due to adoption behaviour. This study therefore tried to investigate if there are differences in Internet banking adoption behaviour between Ghana and Sweden. One bank each from Ghana and Sweden was selected for this study. The study employed the theory of the Extended Technology Acceptance Model by Davis and Venkatesh (2000). This model looks at the individual Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use and Psychological Attachment of adoption. These three parameters of the theory lead to Behavioural Intention which has a positive correlation with actual usage. The study was based on both qualitative and quantitative approaches and questionnaires were administered to some selected Internet banking customers of the two banks using purposive sampling technique. In the same vein, one banking staff each from the two banks knowledgeable in the Internet banking system of their banks was interviewed. The study concludes that there is only a marginal or subtle difference in the adoption behaviour in Internet banking between Ghana and Sweden and that the low patronage of Internet banking in Ghana as compared to that of Sweden is due to reasons other than customers’ adoption behaviour.