Exploring usage of mobile banking apps in the UAE: a categorical regression analysis

The banking sector has seen major changes with advances in technology. Electronic financial transactions are gradually taking over traditional banking services in terms of transferring funds, utility payments, insurance premium, mortgages and even stock trading. Despite the widespread popularity of smartphones and the advantages of mobile banking, the adoption rates of the mobile apps have been very low all over the world. Our study explored the consumer acceptance of mobile apps in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by using a structured online questionnaire that was designed using standard variables from the Technology Acceptance Model. Principal component analysis was used to identify and score these factors for the subsequent categorical regression analysis. Consumers were assigned numerical categories depending on their level of usage of the app, and the CATREG nonlinear technique was used to determine the significance of technology acceptance factors. The results show that almost two-thirds of the sample were currently using Mobile Banking apps, and they predominantly belonged to the 30–40 age-group. Perceived usefulness and available information were identified as the main factors influencing acceptance and level of usage of mobile banking apps. This study makes a significant contribution to the existing literature by identifying consumers according to their level of usage and adopting the categorical regression model, which has not been attempted earlier. The results provide important insights for banking professionals in the UAE, in terms of marketing initiatives, information technology and customer service.