Internet Banking Services in Iran: An Exploratory Study of the Perceptions of Bank Management and Iranian Bank Customers

ABSTRACT: Fast growing industry of banking and the increased demand for bank services require a reliable infrastructure to meet the needs of customers through providing efficient services. Development of computer technology, especially the internet has made the banking industry offer services to customers in more efficient ways. This has been started by a majority of banks in Iran although customers are late in taking advantage of Internet Banking (IB) services. This thesis reports the findings of an exploratory study concerning the current situation of IB in Iran from the perspective of Iranian bank managers and customers. Ten out of eleven banks surveyed indicated that they offered IB services in order to increase customer satisfaction and to gain a competitive edge. From the customers` perspective, less than half of the respondents used IB - mainly to pay bills or transfer money between accounts. More than half of the respondents were not satisfied with IB services. Those who did not use IB services reported that the main reasons were security concerns and lack of Information Technology (IT) knowledge. Based on these findings, recommendations for Iranian banks and their management are presented and a need for a more comprehensive in the Iranian banking sector is mentioned. Keywords: Internet banking, Bank customers, Bank managers, Adoption, Iran. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………