An examination of the drivers of resistance to digital-only banking among Portuguese Mobile Banking adopters

Abstract

Digital-only banking, often referred to as neobanking, has grown in popularity in the past years, especially among younger generations. However, its adoption rates are still well below mobile banking adoption rates, as most individuals continue to prefer traditional banks. This dissertation aims to understand the drivers of this resistance among Portuguese mobile banking users. Through a review of the literature on innovation resistance, five resistance constructs - inertia, perceived complexity, perceived risk, trust, and need for human interaction - and two driving demographic factors - age and gender - were identified and used to formulate seven hypotheses.These hypotheses were initially supported through a qualitative study based on eight online interviews, and further validated through a quantitative study based on 219 survey responses from Portuguese mobile banking users. The results of the latter study revealed that only the perceived complexity and perceived risk constructs and the age factor had significantly positive effects on resistance to digital-only banking. Based on these findings, practical recommendations were provided to support neobanks in overcoming these barriers and increasing market share.

Date of Award	23 Jan 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Miguel Rita (Supervisor)