Usability and trust in e-banking

This study assessed the role of usability in trust of e-banking services. A questionnaire was administered to 185 Italian undergraduate working students who volunteered for the experiment (M age=30.5 yr., SD=3.1). Participants were differentiated on computer ability (Expert, n=104; Nonexpert, n=81) and e-banking use (User, n=93; Nonusers, n=92). Analysis showed that the website usability of e-banking services did not play a very important role for the User group. Instead, institution-based trust, e.g., the trust in the security policy of the Web merchant, customers, and the overall trust of the bank were the crucial factors in the adoption of e-banking.