Abstract
This study explored the issue of whether the use of the Automated Teller Machines (ATM) as a service delivery tool in the banking industry of many developing countries has achieved its intended objective of increasing the effectiveness of customer service provision and reducing the workload of bank tellers. The purpose is to understand customers’ behaviour towards the use of ATM as a banking service delivery tool, and the influence of such customer-usage behaviour on the banks’ human resource capacity building, in terms of employee workload relief and performance. This is because most banks in subSaharan African countries have introduced the ATM in bids to satisfying customers’ service needs and making the work of employees easier. Data was collected using questionnaires that were administered to bank customers who use the ATM facility, as well as bank managers. The findings showed that though most bank customers who use the ATM services perceive the ATM as a convenient, reliable, accurate and suitable service delivery tool for their banking transactions; they still underutilize the ATM’s service capacity by choosing to go to the banking halls to make cash withdrawals of amounts that could be obtained from the ATMs. It is also found that by virtue of this customer behaviour of not using the ATM’s to their full potential, the relief that it is expected to provide bank tellers is not realized. It is concluded that because of customer behavioral challenges to the effective utilization of the ATM technology, banks in developing economies not benefiting from its full potential as a customer service delivery tool, and also as a strategic workload reliever for tellers who service customers inside the banking halls.
Highlights
The ability of most banks in most developing countries to deliver effective and satisfactory services to their clients remains a challenge as a result of the continued use of traditional approaches in the delivery of banking services
Respondents indicate their preference of using it. This customer behaviour of limiting the capitalization of the maximal service capacity of the automated teller machines (ATM) is reinforced by the observation that majority of the customers, as indicated by 95 (79%) of the respondents, will rather go to the banking halls for cash withdrawals than use the ATMs. The implication from this analysis is that though most customers find the ATM as useful a service delivery tool, they tend to use it for only small withdrawals and go to the banking halls for other withdrawal services for which the ATM is programmed by the banks to handle
This study has shown that Ghanaian bank customers who use the ATM services perceive the ATM as convenience, reliable, accurate and suitable for their banking transactions, which fall in line with the views of other researchers
Summary
The ability of most banks in most developing countries to deliver effective and satisfactory services to their clients remains a challenge as a result of the continued use of traditional approaches in the delivery of banking services In this regard, such banks were faced with a situation where the functions of their employees and the traditional service delivery functions they offered were no longer their first interest. A semblance of this influence is highlighted by the introduction of selfservice technologies that have enabled banks to develop electronically mediated multi-channel service delivery platforms for clients These platforms, which include the ATMs, telephone banking, Internet banking, and mobile banking, are efficient means for selling products and servicing customers. In bids to gain competitive advantage in the banking industry, many banks in the developing economies have introduced innovative banking products and services (such as the consumer credit scheme and the electronic funds transfer service) to their clients which interface with ATMs (as service delivery platforms)
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