Attitudes and Preferences in Relation to Internet Banking in the Caribbean

Abstract

This study investigates the extent to which persons in the Caribbean utilized internet banking services, the frequency with which such services were used and the factors that influenced the extent and frequency with which internet banking services were used. The study surveys over 3,000 individuals across ten Caribbean countries, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. The primary research tool for this study was a multi-sample project conducted between December and January 2008/2009. The data on attitudes and preferences towards internet banking was obtained via structured questionnaires and convenience sampling. The study suggests that despite a high level of awareness of internet banking services, only a relatively modest proportion of customers in the Caribbean currently use internet-banking services. Those that use internet-banking services do so relatively infrequently and use the service mainly to check balances and pay bills. Those that do not use internet-banking services perceive a high level of insecurity surrounding internet banking and perceive it to be a relatively complex activity. The survey results suggest that the adoption and frequency of use on internet banking services in the Caribbean are primarily influenced by age, income, and education attainment. With younger, higher income better educated persons being more likely to adopt and more frequently use internet-banking services.