Selection Criteria for Conventional and Islamic Banks: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

The current study investigates the bank selection criteria used by the customers of both the conventional and Islamic banks of Pakistan. From six different cities, a sample of 1000 customers was selected in order to find out the factors influencing their selection of a bank. The results showed that “Security of Money” was considered as the most important factor in the selection of banks, both by the customers of conventional and Islamic banks. The results also revealed that the customers of Islamic banks ranked “Competence of Staff”, “Online Banking Facility”, and “Confidentiality of Information” as the second, third and fourth most important factors in the selection of their respective banks. On the other hand, the customers of conventional banks emphasized “Availability of ATM Machines”, “Quick Service”, and “Friendly Behavior of Staff” as the second, third and fourth most important factors in bank selection. Further, the customers of Islamic banks ranked “Shari’ah Compliance” as the seventh most important factor, while the customers of conventional banks ranked it as the twentieth important factor out of the total twenty-five factors. Thus, to retain the existing customers and to attract new ones, both Islamic and conventional banks need to focus on customer preferences when offering their products.