Trust, acceptance, and use of online banking services in the Philippines

Erik Paolo Capistrano, PhD.1

Abstract

The challenge of enhancing the overall acceptance and use of online banking in the Philippines
remains to be a tough one. While there are many technological and environmental developments
that should spur more and more Filipinos to finally consider online banking as a viable alternative to
avail financial products and services, the fact remains that only a small portion of the country is
actually going online to do their banking activities. This research, utilizing the Unified Theory of
Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), explores some of the factors that influence Filipinos’
behavioral intentions to use online banking. Data collected from 307 online bank customers were
analyzed (1) to identify specific insights on the technical, social, and environmental factors that are
important to customers, and (2) to determine which of these factors influence these behavioral
intentions to use of online banking services. The results show that trust and facilitating conditions
are major favorable factors, while performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence
must be improved. Further implications and recommendations are also included in this research.

Keywords: online banking, trust, UTAUT, Philippines

1. Introduction

The past three to five years have seen a flurry of technological developments in the Philippine
banking industry. Indeed, research has shown that adopting banking technologies has considerably
reduced the cost of doing business, for both banks and their customers (Baabdullah et al., 2019).
Recognizing these benefits of going digital and exploiting technologies such as line-based and mobile
Internet connectivity, both the public and the private sectors in the Philippine banking industry have
either enhanced their already existing online presences or rolled out new ones. The Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippines’ central bank, has been a strong supporter of the push for more
Filipinos not only to be banked, but to also embrace online banking services. BSP also has a number
of online facilities under its wing: PESONet ACH (Philippine Electronic Fund Transfer System and
Operations Network Automated Clearing House), InstaPay and eGovPay (Lopez, 2020a, 2020c; Lucas,
2019). BSP reported that as of August 2020 (Diokno, 2020), total PESONet ACH transactions
(numbering at 2.7 million transactions) were valued at PhP252.9 billion (USD5.22 billion) while total
InstaPay-related transactions numbering at 29.5 million transactions) were valued at PhP141.2
billion (USD2.91 billion). Using March 2020 as the baseline, these represented a 120% increase in
volume and a 70% increase in value for PESONet ACH, and a 312.2% increase in volume and a 206%
increase in value for InstaPay. BSP has also committed to streamlining regulatory processes and

1
Erik Paolo Capistrano, PhD. (email: escapistrano@up.edu.ph) is the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Professor of Business
Administration from the Cesar E.A. Virata School of Business, University of the Philippines, Diliman. He specializes in
Operations Management and Management of Information Technology, specifically in the areas of supply chain
management, project management, e-commerce, and social media, with research publications in Computers in Human
Behavior, Computer Standards and Interfaces, Industrial Management & Data Systems, International Journal of Human-
Computer Interactions, International Journal of Market Research, Asian Journal of Social Science, Philippine Management
Review, and others. He holds a PhD. in International Management from National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City,
Taiwan ROC.

1
issuing firm guidelines and rules governing banks in the country on how to facilitate and manage
their online activities (Chipongian, 2020; Lucas, 2019). Many players providing financial information
and communication technology (ICT) solutions have been ramping up their offerings to include
Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain, among others, and have been
rejuvenating campaigns to increase awareness and understanding on privacy and security issues
related to online banking (Manila Standard, 2020; Newsbytes.PH, 2020; Piad, 2020). All of these
developments pave the way for quite a number of efforts to further enhance online banking in the
Philippines, and to make more Filipinos go online to do their banking activities.

This has been further made prominent by the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the inability of
individuals to go out and physically transact with their banks, or make physical face-to-face
transactions altogether, the reliance on such technologies has skyrocketed. BSP reported that during
the first 45 days of the enhanced community quarantine, online bank transactions went up by 25%,
or by an additional 2.13 million transactions worth PhP64.62 billion (USD1.33 billion) (Lopez, 2020c).
During the quarantine period, over four million new digital accounts were opened (Diokno, 2020).
Domestic banks such as Landbank of the Philippines (LBP) recorded a 57.7% increase in the volume
of transactions from February to March of 2020 (Newsbytes.PH, 2020). Security Bank reported a
170% increase in the usage of their online banking platform within the period of March to August
(Dumlao-Abadilla, 2020). In addition, all within a span of a month, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI)
reported a 25% increase in interbank transfers, e-commerce transactions, and bills payment within
the first two weeks of the quarantine, translating to 1.5 million transactions worth PhP8 billion
(USD165.06 million), Philippine National Bank (PNB) observed a 14% increase in enrollment to their
mobile banking platform and a 13% increase in online financial transactions, Rizal Commercial
Banking Corporation (RCBC) experienced a 156% surge in online transactions, and UnionBank
observed a 160% growth in daily registrations to their online desktop and mobile platform, more
than 500,000 credit card transactions, and over PhP1 million (USD20,631) in fund transfers (Noble,
2020). Furthermore, foreign banks such as ING, which is fully online in the Philippines, is taking
advantage of this development, rolling out its own e-payment services in November 2020 and
announcing plans for online consumer loans on top of its existing banking services (Lopez, 2020b;
Piad, 2020). All in all, there is actually much significant activity going on to enable the entire
Philippine banking industry to level up and improve its presence in the online banking domain.

However, despite these, many Filipinos are still unbanked, or have not fully embraced online banking
services (Lopez, 2020a). It is unfortunate the it took a pandemic for many – both banks and
customers – to realize the benefits of online banking. This leaves is little doubt that going online is
becoming more and more embedded in banking activities. However, if the different players within
the banking industry wish to have some more headway in making this sustainable, they must take
the time and the effort to periodically review the overall performance of their respective online
channels (Baabdullah et al., 2019; Slade et al., 2015; Tarhini et al., 2016). The present COVID-19
situation has merely accelerated the plans to have more and more people to go digital in their
banking activities.

Hence, the following research questions are posed:

RQ1: What factors influence Philippine online banking acceptance and use?

RQ2: What is the role of trust in Philippine online banking acceptance and use?

2. Literature review
2.1. E-banking in the Philippines

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Within the Philippine context, there have been a number of interesting past researches examining
offline banking and online banking from many different perspectives and dimensions. These include
perceived effectiveness of service channels (Depusoy et al., 2020), customer perceptions on service
quality (Mendoza et al., 2020; Talavera, 2020), customer acceptance of technology use in banking
(Lim, 2013; Morales & Trinidad, 2019a, 2019b, 2019c; Quilantang, 2016), and customer satisfaction
(Mendoza et al., 2020). These past researches have also observed the current and potential
favorable roles of technology in their respective areas of focus.

Such researches provide much empirical support for the industry side highlighting a number of
considerations to improve Filipinos’ perceptions towards online banking. Experts agree that to
increase consumer adoption and use and customer satisfaction, banks should focus on delivering
convenient, speedy, secure services (de Jesus, 2019; Publico, 2019). These should be supported by a
strong ICT infrastructure that can ensure quality services and reliable protection from cyberattacks
(ABS-CBN News, 2016; Manila Standard, 2020). However, all of these are still in varying stages of
development, with some banks going ahead, while others are falling behind. Furthermore, the
pressure to further innovate and diversify banks’ revenue streams in order to increase bottom lines
is also a significant consideration in the design and development of these online banking channels.

2.2. Behavioral intentions to use and online banking

Behavioral intentions to use technology describes the factors that determines if an individual will
perform the action in question, under the context in question (Venkatesh et al., 2003). In other
words, it is a key predictor in the analysis of whether or not individuals would eventually adopt and
use a certain technology (Venkatesh et al., 2011). In this context, the action expected to be
performed is the adoption and use of online banking channels (Baabdullah et al., 2019; Slade et al.,
2015; Tarhini et al., 2016).

There are many different perspectives, points of view, and schools of thought regarding how can
organizations encourage their customers to exhibit some form of favorable behavioral intentions to
use whatever the organizations are offering. This research adopts the Unified Theory of Acceptance
and Use of Technology (UTAUT) point of view. UTAUT argues that individuals’ perceptions on four
fundamental considerations of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and
facilitating conditions influence their dispositions to exhibit some form of behavioral intentions to
use the technology is question (Baabdullah et al., 2019; Slade et al., 2015; Tarhini et al., 2016;
Venkatesh et al., 2003; Venkatesh et al., 2011). But over time, other considerations relevant to the
context being studied have been added to the UTAUT perspective. Specific to this research, one
important addition to the UTAUT is the considerations regarding trust. In IS research, trust is a
central construct influencing many types of online attitudes and behaviors (McKnight & Chervany,
2001; McKnight et al., 2002). The role of trust in online banking in particular is quite obvious at this
point. For one, the banking industry deals with quite a vast amount of personal and personally-
identifying information, and is quite exposed to varying degrees of security and privacy risks (Slade
et al., 2015; Tarhini et al., 2016). Hence, the proposed research model is shown below (See Figure 1:
Proposed research model).

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Figure 1: Proposed research model

2.3. Trust and online banking use

Trust, most especially in the banking industry, is a very critical consideration (Slade et al., 2015). And
this is further emphasized by the fact that the banking industry is always beset with issues pertaining
to risks and security, privacy concerns, and credibility (ABS-CBN News, 2016; Manila Standard, 2020;
Publico, 2019; Slade et al., 2015; Tarhini et al., 2016).

Theoretically, one way to entice more individuals to adopt and use technologies is to build and
develop trust at the beginning (Venkatesh et al., 2011) – or what is known in research as initial trust
(McKnight & Chervany, 2001; McKnight et al., 2002). Many banks attempt to build trust through
multiple approaches and tactics in the hopes that they can leverage their brand image to entice
more of their customers to avail more of their services, including their online banking channels (de
Jesus, 2019; Dumlao-Abadilla, 2020; Lopez, 2020a, 2020b, 2020c; Manila Standard, 2020;
Newsbytes.PH, 2020; Noble, 2020; Piad, 2020; Publico, 2019).

H1: Customer trust in online banking positively influences their behavioral intentions to use online
banking

2.4. Performance expectations and online banking use

Performance expectancy is the belief that using the technology being employed to carry out a task
will help in attaining performance gains in more convenient and productive ways (Venkatesh et al.,
2003). In other words, this is about the overall perceived usefulness of the technology from a
rational point of view (Venkatesh et al., 2011). Both academics and experts have pointed out in
order for online Philippine banking to flourish, this should provide better and more useful services
compared to its offline counterparts (de Jesus, 2019; Manila Standard, 2020; Morales & Trinidad,
2019a, 2019b, 2019c; Publico, 2019). In this regard, this research hypothesizes that favorably
delivering on these performance expectations leads to favorable increases in bank customers’
behavioral intentions to use online banking platforms (Baabdullah et al., 2019; Slade et al., 2015;
Tarhini et al., 2016).

H2: Customers’ performance expectations on online banking positively influences their behavioral
intentions to use online banking

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2.5. Effort expectations and online banking use

Effort expectancy describes the ease of use of the technology employed to accomplish a task
(Venkatesh et al., 2003). This means that, compared to the other alternatives to perform the task,
the technology must be simpler, easier, and requiring less effort and less assistance, if any at all, to
use (Venkatesh et al., 2011). This is also consistent with what Philippine online banking channels
should endeavor regarding that critical dimension on convenience to further encourage more
Filipinos to use them (de Jesus, 2019; Manila Standard, 2020; Morales & Trinidad, 2019a, 2019b,
2019c; Publico, 2019). As such, this research hypothesizes that working towards addressing these
effort expectations leads to bank customers having increased favorable behavioral intentions to use
online banking platforms (Baabdullah et al., 2019; Slade et al., 2015; Tarhini et al., 2016).

H3: Customers’ effort expectations on online banking positively influences their behavioral intentions
to use online banking

2.6. Social influence and online banking use

Social influence describes the individual’s perceptions towards what others say regarding the
technology being used to accomplish a task (Venkatesh et al., 2003). This variable takes into
consideration that some technologies are being pushed as “the next big thing” that will make users
attain some form of social status, and that individuals are sometimes being subjected to some
degree of “peer pressure” to start using the technology (Venkatesh et al., 2011). Based on the
arguments of many academic studies and on the impressions derived from industry reports, this
particular variable can be a very powerful one to persuade individuals to use online banking (de
Jesus, 2019; Morales & Trinidad, 2019a, 2019b, 2019c; Publico, 2019). In fact, many have touted
online banking indeed as the next big thing for Philippine banking, rolling out all sorts of different
services offerings and features (Lopez, 2020b; Manila Standard, 2020; Piad, 2020). Hence, this
research hypothesizes that creating favorable social influences leads to favorable increases in bank
customers’ behavioral intentions to use online banking platforms (Baabdullah et al., 2019; Slade et
al., 2015; Tarhini et al., 2016).

H4: Customers’ views on social influences positively influences their behavioral intentions to use
online banking

2.7. Facilitating conditions and online banking use

Facilitating conditions covers the individuals’ beliefs that there is adequate organizational and
infrastructure support to effectively and efficiently use the technology being employed to
accomplish the tasks it is supposed to do (Venkatesh et al., 2003). This is also colloquially referred to
as the favorable external environmental conditions that empower and enable users to exert
considerable control over the technology that they are using (Venkatesh et al., 2011). Previous
researchers and industry reports have also stressed the need for the right environmental,
organizational, and technological conditions to entice more Filipinos to avail of such technologies
available to them to become banked, and to subscribe and patronize online banking channels (ABS-
CBN News, 2016; de Jesus, 2019; Lopez, 2020a; Manila Standard, 2020; Morales & Trinidad, 2019a,
2019b, 2019c; Publico, 2019). Therefore, this research hypothesizes that better and more favorable
facilitating conditions would lead to increased behavioral intentions to use online banking channels
(Baabdullah et al., 2019; Slade et al., 2015; Tarhini et al., 2016).

H5: Customers’ views on facilitating conditions on online banking positively influences their
behavioral intentions to use online banking

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3. Methods

A combination of paper-based and online seven-point Likert-scale survey (1=very much disagree to
7=very much agree) was used for the data collection. The adopted question items were based on the
original UTAUT model and were revised accordingly to suit the context based on the cited previous
studies on the similar contexts of banking services. Convenience sampling was employed, and
quotas were set for the type of channel (website vs. mobile app) and the type of device
(desktop/laptop vs. tablet/smartphone). This is to ensure that there is some degree of equitable
representation to improve the accuracy of the data set with the prevailing realities of Philippine
online banking use. The target respondents surveyed had at least some experience repeatedly
transacting with a bank through its website and/or its mobile app. This also means that the
respondents own at least a desktop or laptop computer and/or a mobile device (tablet or
smartphone). This is all consistent with previous research arguing that experienced users can
provide much more valuable and actionable insights, comments, and feedback regarding technology
use (Venkatesh et al., 2011). Accordingly, a total of 307 usable responses were collected and used
for the analysis of this research.

4. Analysis and results

4.1. Respondent profiles

Of the 307 respondents, a little over 60% use smartphones or tablets more often to conduct their
banking activities. A little over half of the respondents are from 24 to 35 years old. The respondent
sample also included another 13% aged 56 years or older. Females comprise 61% of the sample,
while singles represent almost 62% of the respondents. Most of the respondents have at least a
college undergraduate degree.

Table 1: Respondent demographics (N=307)

N %
Device used
PC or laptop 122 39.74
Smartphone or tablet 185 60.26
Age group
24 to 35 years old 159 51.79
36 to 45 years old 29 9.45
46 to 55 years old 79 25.73
56 years old and above 40 13.03
Gender at birth
Male 119 38.76
Female 188 61.24
Marital status
Single 190 61.89
Married 105 34.20
Separated 9 2.93
Widowed 3 0.98
Highest educational attainment
High school graduate 2 0.65
Some college 9 2.93

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 N %
College graduate 217 70.68
Some post-college 30 9.77
Post-college 49 15.96
Average time spent on online banking
5 to 10 minutes 120 39.09
11 to 15 minutes 59 19.22
16 to 20 minutes 47 15.31
21 to 25 minutes 19 6.19
26 to 30 minutes 31 10.10
More than 30 minutes 31 10.10
Number of online banking accounts
1 to 3 accounts 176 57.33
3 to 5 accounts 75 24.43
5 to 7 accounts 36 11.73
More than 7 accounts 20 6.51
Years using online banking
Less than 1 year 19 6.19
1 to 2 years 69 22.48
2 to 3 years 69 22.48
3 to 4 years 47 15.31
4 to 5 years 25 8.14
More than 5 years 78 25.41

Almost 40% of the respondents disclosed that they are averaging some 5 to 10 minutes per session
on online banking. Some 57% shared that they have one to three online banking accounts.
Furthermore, a fourth of the sample said that they have been using online banking for more than
five years already. Another 22% said that they have been using online banking for two to three
years, while another 22% were engaged in online banking for one to two years.

4.2. Descriptive, validity, and reliability statistics

The descriptive analyses were done via SPSS 21 statistical software, while the validity and reliability
analyses were done using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) via AMOS 16 statistical software.
Question items with standardized loadings below the recommended threshold of 0.700 were
dropped from the final measurement model. The resulting numbers proved to be in compliances
with the CFA rules-of-thumb evaluating the model fit. Furthermore, the generated average variance
extracted (AVE) numbers for each research variable confirmed good convergent validity, while the
resulting composite reliability (CR) and Cronbach Alpha numbers all show good reliability. All in all,
based on these statistical tests, the data is deemed fit to be used for hypotheses testing.

Table 2: Descriptive, validity, and reliability statistics

Std. Std. Cron.

Variable Question Item Mean AVE CR
Dev. Loading α
Trust (TR) (Slade et al., 2015; Venkatesh et al., 2011) 0.707 0.828 0.825

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 Std. Std. Cron.
Variable Question Item Mean AVE CR
Dev. Loading α
I believe that the bank will do
TR4 everything to secure the online 5.681 1.445 0.877
transactions for users.
I believe that the bank keeps
TR2 5.557 1.381 0.803
customers’ interests in mind.
I believe that the bank keeps their
TR1 5.459 1.403 Deleted
promise/s.
I believe that the bank is
TR3 5.450 1.416 Deleted
trustworthy.
Performance expectancy (PE) (Venkatesh et al., 2011) 0.813 0.897 0.895
Using this online banking channel
PE2 enables me to avail of banking 6.068 1.428 0.930
services more quickly.
Using this online banking channel
PE3 increases my efficiency in 5.873 1.504 0.877
transacting with the bank.
I find this online banking channel
PE1 6.283 1.189 Deleted
useful in my daily life.
Effort expectancy (EE) (Venkatesh et al., 2011) 0.858 0.924 0.924
Navigating through this online
EE1 banking channel avail of banking 5.870 1.332 0.934
services is clear and understandable.
I find this online banking channel
EE3 easy to use to avail of banking 5.974 1.321 0.919
services.
It is easy for me to master using this
EE2 online banking channel to avail of 5.964 1.322 Deleted
banking services.
Social influence (SI) (Venkatesh et al., 2011) 0.871 0.953 0.953
People who are close to me think
SI2 that I should use this online banking 5.326 1.535 0.954
channel to avail of banking services.
People who are important to me
think that I should use this online
SI1 5.375 1.497 0.930
banking channel to avail of banking
services.
People whose opinions I value
prefer that I should use this online
SI3 5.420 1.492 0.916
banking channel to avail of banking
services.
Facilitating conditions (FC) (Venkatesh et al., 2011) 0.657 0.790 0.771

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 Std. Std. Cron.
Variable Question Item Mean AVE CR
Dev. Loading α
I have the knowledge necessary to
FC1 use this online banking channel to 6.176 1.192 0.909
avail of banking services.
This online banking channel to avail
of banking services is compatible
FC2 5.977 1.380 0.698
across the different devices that I
use.
Help services are available for
assistance for difficulties with this
FC3 5.508 1.485 Deleted
online banking channel to avail of
banking services.
Behavioral intention to use technology (BT) (Venkatesh et al., 2011) 0.712 0.881 0.875
I plan to use this online banking
channel avail of banking services
BT2 5.850 1.447 0.880
more frequently in the next few
months.
I intend to continue using this
banking online channel to avail of
BT1 6.094 1.268 0.868
banking services in the next few
months.
I intend to continue using this online
BT3 banking channel avail of banking 5.664 1.532 0.779
services rather than do it offline.
Model fit: CMIN=140.568; CMIN/DF=2.267; GFI=0.941; AGFI=0.900; RMR=0.056; NFI=0.961; TLI=0.967;
CFI=0.978; RMSEA=0.064

The CFA results show the following insights for each research variable as stated by customers of
Philippine online banking. Trust is all about the belief that the banks will do everything to secure
customers transactions. For performance expectancy, it is the ability of the online banking channel
to enable customers to accomplish their transactions. For effort expectancy, what customers
perceive the most is the clear and understandable navigation through the online banking channel.
Social influence is all about the inputs from the people that customers think they are close to.
Facilitating conditions is all about the necessary knowledge that is needed to use the online banking
channel. Lastly, the variable on behavioral intentions is about the customers planning to use online
banking more frequently within the immediate foreseeable future.

In addition, a correlation matrix with the square root of the AVE in the diagonal was generated. This
is to further test the discriminant validity of the collected data. The results show that there are no
discriminant validity issues, as all the square root of the AVE numbers are higher than all the other
numbers in the correlation matrix.

Table 3: Correlation matrix with the square of the AVE in the diagonal

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 TR PE EE SI FC BT
TR 0.841
PE 0.544 0.901
EE 0.597 0.740 0.927
SI 0.566 0.572 0.649 0.933
FC 0.638 0.617 0.691 0.567 0.810
BT 0.679 0.581 0.660 0.555 0.731 0.844

4.3. Structural equation modeling (SEM)

SEM using AMOS 16 statistical software was employed to test this research’s proposed hypotheses.
After running the necessary analyses and generating the rules-of-thumb figures evaluating model fit,
the resulting structural model was deemed viable for both the theoretical and practical
interpretations.

Table 4: Summary of hypotheses testing results

Hypothesis Std. Estimate Remarks

Customer trust in online banking positively influences their
H1 0.288*** Supported
behavioral intentions to use online banking
Customers’ performance expectations on online banking
Not
H2 positively influences their behavioral intentions to use online 0.034(n.s.)
supported
banking
Customers’ effort expectations on online banking positively Not
H3 0.145(n.s.)
influences their behavioral intentions to use online banking supported
Customers’ views on social influences positively influences Not
H4 0.035(n.s.)
their behavioral intentions to use online banking supported
Customers’ views on facilitating conditions on online banking
H5 positively influences their behavioral intentions to use online 0.389*** Supported
banking
Significance levels: ***=p-value<0.001; **=p-value<0.01; *p-value<0.05; n.s.=not significant
Model fit: R2=0.633; CMIN=140.568; CMIN/DF=2.267; GFI=0.941; AGFI=0.900; RMR=0.056; NFI=0.961;
TLI=0.967; CFI=0.978; RMSEA=0.064

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Figure 2: SEM results

Based on the SEM results, only two of the five hypotheses are supported. The other three exerted
statistically weak influence towards the research’s final dependent variable. Of the statistically
significant effects, facilitating conditions exert the stronger influence compared to trust. On the
other hand, performance expectancy has the weakest influence, followed by social influence, and
then by effort expectancy.

5. Conclusions
5.1. Discussions

This research posed two questions to be analyzed and answered. To reiterate, this research focuses
on how to improve the overall acceptance and use of online banking services in the Philippines.
There is already much headway done as far as online banking is concerned, but banks can obviously
do so much more. Under this, the more immediate concern is to entice more Filipinos to get banked,
and to get banked online. Each is now discussed below as follows.

RQ1: What factors influence Philippine online banking acceptance and use?

For the case of Philippine online banking, facilitating conditions, especially in terms of gaining the
necessary knowledge needed to use a bank’s website or mobile app, stands out as the most
influential factor towards online banking acceptance and use. This means that they are looking for
effective and efficient ways and means for them to continuously learn how to use their bank’s
website or mobile apps for them to make transactions. However, another facilitating condition, the
issue on compatibility with different devices, is also very important to them. Curiously, availability of
assistance is of least concern.

While the research results show that they are not statistically significant, this does not mean that the
other UTAUT factors of performance expectations, effort expectations, and social influence should
not be considered. The results do show favorable influences, indicating that it is also a good thing to
look into these other factors to further enhance customer acceptance and use of these online
banking channels.

In summary, specific considerations regarding facilitating conditions as indicated in this research is

an area of strength, and therefore an area for enhancement. On the other hand, specific

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considerations on performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence are areas for
concern that should not be ignored, and therefore must be perceived as areas for improvement.
Overall, the banks are doing quite well as far as customer acceptance and use of their online banking
channels are concerned, but they can obviously do much better.

RQ2: What is the role of trust in Philippine online banking acceptance and use?

The research results show that trust, defined as the trustworthiness of the service provider
employing website and mobile app technologies, in this case the bank, is an important factor in
cultivating the acceptance and use of online banking. Trust enhances the chances that customers will
accept and use these online banking services, also echoing what industry experts are advocating.
More specifically, customers believe that their bank will do everything to secure the online
transactions that they make. This is the most important trust-related consideration that banks
should keep in mind if they want their customers to use and continue using their online channels. In
line with this, customers also believe that the bank keeps their interests in mind. Hence, any
technological developments that the bank does, especially in terms of serving their customers like
managing and maintaining websites and mobile apps for banking purposes, are expected to be
customer-centric.

5.2. Implications

This research presents a number of suggestions that would aid the banking industry in their efforts
to improve the customer utilization of their online banking channels, be it a website, a mobile app,
or both.

From the technical perspective, it is recommended that banks focus on improving the interfaces of
their respective online banking presences to make it easier for their customers to navigate through
the website or the mobile app. It is also recommended that banks look into further improving the
functionalities to enhance the customer convenience. For the immediate term, these improvements
should aim to (1) enhance the ability of the customers to transact more quickly and more efficiently
online, and (2) provide clear and easy to understand directions while using the website or mobile
app. In fact, this research echoes what many third-party reviews and expert commentaries have
pointed out that are needed to entice more Filipinos to use online banking as far as making it user-
friendly, convenient, and accessible is concerned.

What is further interesting in this research is that the effects of social influence proved to be
statistically not significant. This means that Filipino online banking customers do not heavily consider
the feedback from the people around them when making decisions to go online for their banking
needs. At present, they only consider them to a much lesser degree compared to the other
considerations as stated in this research. This has some marketing-related implications. One of the
biggest of these implications is the promotions strategies on using these websites and mobile apps.
Based on the research results, it seems that thinking and rethinking about doing word-of-mouth
promotions, through closely-knit customer networks, would work better, rather than spending for
online and offline advertisement campaigns. And speaking of marketing strategies and campaigns,
banks would also do well to allocate some of these resources in enhancing customer trust. In other
words, the website and mobile apps must also reflect and communicate the same degree of
trustworthiness that the banks have developed through the years via their offline services. In
addition, another part of these marketing strategies and campaigns must be geared towards
providing more and better information and instructions to make customers better educated and
better equipped in the use of online banking channels. Making them confident and well-informed

12
about the use of these online banking channels would go a long way for their continued acceptance
and use.

5.3. Limitations and directions for future research

Aside from the factors discussed in this research, there are many others that can and should be
considered in the discourse of what drives people to use such technologies for their banking needs.
This includes perceptions and attitudes on privacy and security, feelings of enjoyment and anxiety,
and the need to be “in”, among others. Future research can deal with these other factors and
determine which ones truly influence behavioral intentions to use online banking.

Also, this research recognizes that the entire technological infrastructure required to ensure very
favorable performance and delivery of services are not entirely under the banks’ control. The online
banking landscape, and even the entire e-commerce landscape, is an ecosystem comprised of
multiple players. Therefore, other external factors such as technology integrity and reliability
provided by other companies such as the telecommunications providers and the electronic device
manufacturers should also be taken into account in future research when evaluating customer
feedback regarding the banks’ online presences.

Lastly, even though the banking industry is one of the biggest players in offering financial products
and services, there are many others that should also be subjected to this type of research. This is
mainly because of the bigger phenomenon of fintech. The emergence of fintech is gradually
redefining the way normal individuals are accessing and patronizing financial products and services.
Therefore, one of the more obvious directions for future research is to apply an approach similar to
this present discourse to digital payment channels, such as GCash, PayMaya, Alipay, GrabPay, Apple
Pay, Samsung Pay, and others, which can facilitate an entire spectrum from large to micro
transactions. Later on, other theoretical foundations prominent in the IS field of research can also be
employed to further examine such growing phenomenon. This is an important consideration if both
academia and industry want to make the development and application these technologies
sustainable.

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