Security, perceptions, and practices: Challenges facing adoption of online banking in Saudi Arabia

Online banking can increase the velocity of money in an economy. In a developing economy with a rudimentary information infrastructure, embracing online banking requires change and evolution. Banks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are facing significant competition from large, multinational financial institutions that have learned to operate within constraints of Shari'ah (Islamic Law). Within Saudi Arabia, there is a small segment of the population with access to the Internet and hence to online banking. Access to the Internet is hampered by the poor infrastructure and high costs associated with Internet service.; This research study examined the perceptions and demographics of that small segment of online banking participants to find out what challenges existed to the widespread adoption of online banking. Of particular interest were the perceptions of security of online banking, cultural or social impediments that may exist, and educational or occupational influences on a willingness to adopt online banking. In all, 473 Saudi nationals were contacted for this research, which was conducted through questionnaires. Four groups were targeted: Banks' customers, banks' managerial employees, banks' technical employees, and banks' legal employees.; The most significant results of this study showed that the educational level, professional background, and technical competency of the participants turned out to be major factors in their perceptions of online banking. Interestingly, and contrary to most theories of pedagogy, the higher educated respondents expressed more concern about the security of online banking.; The synthesis of these research findings can be extracted into recommendations. One is that both investments in infrastructure and citizen knowledge are required if a government wishes to encourage the adoption of online banking. A second recommendation is for the development of standards, policies, and enforcement mechanisms to assure the dependable operations of online banking in the international economy.