From Perception to Adoption: Malaysian Bank Customers' Journey to Digital Banking

The wave of digitalisation has hit almost all industries worldwide, regardless of small or large industries, including banking. Digital banking is a new idea that represents a comprehensive shift towards a fully digital paradigm. With the arrival of disruptive technology, digital banking has changed dramatically over the years. Furthermore, the growing use of advanced technologies on digital banking platforms creates an excellent opportunity to help customers in doing their transactions more quickly and effectively. Although digital technology has developed rapidly and made banking easier, some users are aware of its existence but reluctant to use it. Despite the trend towards digital banking, its adoption rate is still low. Therefore, increasing the adoption of digital banking is important to ensure its success in Malaysia. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used in this study to investigate the impact of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, peer influence, and perceived trust on attitudes and how attitudes influence intentions to use digital banking. This study used a quantitative approach with primary data using a Likert scale survey. A purposive non-random sampling technique was used in this study, and the data obtained were cleaned and analysed using SPSS software. Further analysis was performed using a partial least squares structural equation model with SmartPLS3 to assess reliability and validity and test the study hypotheses. The findings showed that attitude significantly impacts the intention to use digital banking, confirming its role in adoption. Perceived usefulness is the most important factor in shaping attitude, followed by perceived trust, peer influence, and perceived ease of use. All proposed hypotheses were supported, highlighting the significance of these factors in fostering a positive attitude towards digital banking and driving its adoption. The findings will assist the banking industry in developing strategies to ensure customers fully adopt digital banking.