Abstract

     Social distancing practices and staying at home have increased the time people spend on social media with the purpose of exchanging and consuming information about completing their routine practices safely. The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted in-person banking operations and increased the physical threat for both retail bankers and customers. Consequently, the world has moved toward internet banking with the purpose to continue routine transactions for paying bills, purchasing groceries, and shopping of brands. The present study aims to explore how the fearful environment of Covid-19 pandemic increased the social practices of internet banking and what challenges are faced by different customers during their use of internet banking. By understanding these experiences, system developers and marketers can improve their internet banking apps to address the needs and expectations of different customers. The study has opted for a relativist ontological position and social constructionist epistemological position to understand different realities in the same context and how customers experience internet banking in a fearful environment. The study used multiple qualitative research methods: Gibbs reflection cycle, semi-structured interviews with internet banking users, and focus group interviews with executives of public and private sector banks. Social actors through social media played a role with respect to understanding the nature of uncertainty during Covid-19 pandemic that changed customers’ behavior from traditional banking to internet banking. Information was shared through social media to avoid ATMs, debit and credit card exchange with cashiers, and cash exchange as these are no longer safe options for both bankers and customers. The major theoretical contribution of this study is to merge social practice theory and affordance of technology theory in the context of internet banking adoption. This study has discussed practical implications for marketers and system developers of retail banks.

Introduction

     Existing research on internet banking suggests that internet banking is relatively new in developing countries compared to the developed world (Abbasi et al., 2017; Rahi et al., 2019). For example, out of 200 million population of Pakistan, only 3.1 million are registered internet users, which highlights a very low adoption rate of internet banking (Rahi et al., 2020). Prior research highlighted causes of low adoption rate of internet banking in Pakistan, such as weak legal system, high poverty, corruption, high cybercrime, low trust (Akhlaq and Ahmed, 2013), low literacy rate, disheartening experiences, low internet accessibility and high electricity shortfall, high resistance to adoption of new technologies (Abbasi et al., 2017), low security, and high uncertainty (Rahi et al., 2019, 2020). Other studies reported that technology adoption and acceptance is low in Pakistan due to low financial performance and privacy risks (Anwar et al., 2020; Khan et al., 2018). It was found that low knowledge and awareness can negatively influence intention to use telebanking; therefore, more training programs are required to educate customers in developing countries, such as Jordan (Alalwan et al., 2016, 2018; Chauhan et al., 2019). In Malaysia, approximately 50% of the population have adopted internet banking, which is relatively low compared to developed countries, such as the USA (Amin, 2016; Yuen et al., 2015). In Tunisia, high fallibilities and vulnerabilities, such as economic and political instability as well as low accessibility to internet banking, have negatively influenced customer attitudes and adoption rate (Chaouali et al., 2017). Most of the existing literature on internet banking in Pakistan highlights the causes of low internet banking adoption (Anwar et al., 2020; Khan et al., 2018; Rahi et al., 2019, 2020), but this study aims to understand how the fearful environment of COVID-19 pandemic forced people to adopt internet banking as a social practice as well as the challenges customers faced during their use of internet banking.

Contribution

     First, the extensively used TAM provided understanding about customer perception and usefulness of internet banking system (Alsajjan and Dennis, 2010; Chauhan et al., 2019; Marakarkandy et al., 2017; Mohammadi, 2015). However, the TAM did not aid understanding of how uncertain situations can play a role in the adoption of the social practices of internet banking through social interactions and social wisdom via social media platforms. Second, the studies on original TAMs and extension of TAMs (e.g. Chauhan et al., 2019; Munoz-Leiva et al., 2017; Kumar et al., 2011; Lai, 2017) did not consider the external environment (i.e. fear appeal and health risks of COVID-19) as a pushing factor of internet banking adoption. Third, although there are many theories, such as theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behavior (Asongu et al., 2018; Alsajjan and Dennis, 2010), social cognitive theory (Boateng et al., 2016), perceived risk theory (Roy et al., 2017), and models such as Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model (UTAUT) (Choudrie et al., 2018; Rahi et al., 2019), UTAUT2, and information system success models (Baabdullah et al., 2019; Tarhini et al., 2016) for understanding the factors that can influence the adoption of internet banking, most of the existing literature does not explore the role of social media which can increase awareness, motivation, and competencies for internet banking adoption in an uncertain and fearful environment. Therefore, this study has provided the socially practiced affordance of technology (SPAOT) model that aids understanding regarding the meanings created about uncertainty through the social interactions of social actors using social media platforms, which can enhance the adoption of internet banking. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed social practices from traditional banking to internet banking, especially in Pakistan, as there are a lot of physical (i.e. fear of illness as many people are not following social distancing practices), social, and psychological threats (low hygiene during ATM use, fear and stress about visiting bank branches) involved in traditional banking practices. The SPAOT model highlights that shared material through social media increased people’s awareness, motivation, and competencies to use internet banking in a country where there are issues of lower literacy, readability, electricity, and internet accessibility.