Opinion Article Open Access

A Preliminary Empirical Investigation of ‘Brick-to-Click’ Banking Presence in the United Arab Emirates.

Abstract

This preliminary study undertakes to investigate the extent and quality of electronic banking (e-banking) in UAE. Banks worldwide are now moving rapidly to an era of technological change. Online versions of nearly all existing payment methods are appearing rapidly bringing about profound changes in the whole system of financial services and intermediation. While many banks especially in Europe and the U.S. have adopted internet banking, this research shows that the majority of banks in U.A.E. are still in the early stages of developing e-banking. Only 18 of the 46 banks in this emerging nation have well-developed e-banking facilicities, despite all banks having an internet banking website for the convenience of their customers. This study sets out to answer several important questions. Namely, what is e-banking? What services does e-banking provide in the UAE and what provisions are made to improve customer relationship using this technology? Using a functionality-interactivity matrix cell model and a survey of 46 banks, evidence shows that the development of electronic banking services within the UAE are moving closer towards western models, albeit, slowly. Evidence shows that reluctance of many banks to whole-heartedly brace e-banking is caused by security fears.

Bruce Budd, Daniel Budd

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