A study of intention to save in Islamic banks: the perspective of Muslim students

Abstract

PurposeIslamic banking provides financial products and services to fulfill the transaction needs of Muslim consumers, and Muslim students are potential consumers who can support the development of Islamic financial institutions. This study aims to examine the factors that influence the intentions of Muslim students to save in Islamic banks. Independent variables in this study are a parental recommendation, location, profit sharing, religiosity, knowledge and financial information disclosure.Design/methodology/approachThe samples in this study are Muslim university students in Indonesia and are divided into two groups as follows: the first group has an educational background in Islamic economics gained at Islamic universities, while the second group is studying at public universities and so do not have a background of this type. The study uses questionnaires to gather data and analyzes this data using a multiple linear regression model.FindingsFor the first group, this study finds that profit-sharing, religiosity, knowledge and financial information disclosure influence the intentions of Muslim students to save in Islamic banks. The results for the second group show that parental recommendation, profit sharing and religiosity influence the intentions of Muslim students without an Islamic economic background to save in Islamic banks.Practical implicationsThe implications of this study are that the university environment can influence the intention of students to save in accounts at Islamic banks. As students form an important market segment for the banking industry as a new source of accounts and for future profitability, interested parties and in particular Islamic banks may wish to consider these results as part of their strategies for attracting customers.Originality/valueThe respondents of this study consist of Muslim students in Islamic and public universities in Indonesia. The different backgrounds of the students can describe intention levels in their assessments of Islamic banks.