Islamic Banking Customer Engagement and Awareness: Exploring an African Context

Abstract

The Islamic banking industry is a niche market within the South African banking industry. Information is needed on the profile of customers and their level of awareness concerning activities at Islamic banks. Thus, the objectives of this study are to identify the banking engagements and level of CSR awareness among customers of Islamic banks in South Africa. The study used non-probability sampling to collect data via a questionnaire from 163 respondents throughout South Africa, which was analysed using descriptive statistics. The results indicate that respondents sought out Islamic banking for themselves; they also had a long-standing relationship with the Islamic bank and mainly used saving, current, and investment accounts. The findings also showed that respondents needed to be made aware of the CSR activities undertaken by the Islamic banks, and they could have engaged in CSR activities more regularly. Thus, those in management at Islamic banks are encouraged to engage in proactively making their Sharia-compliant offerings and CSR activities visible.