M-banking barriers in Pakistan: a customer perspective of adoption and continuity intention

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine barriers jeopardizing the adoption and usage intention of mobile banking (M-banking) in Pakistan and provide deeper insights to fix such deteriorating factors. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected in countrywide regional headquarters to mark the utmost generalizability of the results, which included seven largest cities of Pakistan. SEM path analysis was used to analyze data collected from Pakistan’s top 5 bank customers incorporating both users and non-users. Findings Results revealed that lack of awareness, initial trust and compatibility and perceived risk were the core barriers that stood out as obstacles to the adoption and usage of M-banking in Pakistan. It was also approved that having fixed these core barriers would outcome in existing users’ continuity intent besides raising new users’ inclination toward M-banking. Originality/value The study has unveiled the core barriers that have so far impeded the adoption and usage of M-banking. There is not a unified position concerning adoption and usage blockades. Factors differ with contexts, markets, time and kinds of innovations. However, this study is unlike past studies that merely studied students within a specified institute in a restricted jurisdiction. This is the first study to have nationally explored adoption and usage issues; thus, it is anticipated to potentially contribute to the prevailing literature especially in Pakistani context where a few studies prevail, addressing M-banking adoption and usage barriers.