CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The emergence of information communication technologies (ICTs) has caused a rapid change in the structure and activities of the banking industry around the world in the last few decades. The banking industry and its prevailing environment in the 21st century have becoming complex and competitive which made information and communication technology to take the central stage in the operations of banks.
However, the Basel Committee in 2003 conceptualised E-banking as a medium through which banking products and services could be extended to the customers via electronic channels such as internet banking, telephone banking, PC Banking, mobile banking, TV based banking and ATMs. Prior to the emergence of modern banking system, operations of banks were normally conducted manually which invariably resulted into delays in the settlement of transactions. Meanwhile, the advent of electronic banking has made transfer of funds, viewing and checking account balances, payment of mortgages, bills and purchase of financial instruments and certificates of deposits etc. easier and faster with a view to improving customer satisfaction.
The critical need to catch up with global developments, international best practices in the quality of their service delivery, Nigerian banks have embarked on massive investments on information and communication technologies over time. The increasing rate of technological progress in ICTs has made banks to provide e-banking services and other online banking services in order to gain competitive advantage in the economy (Ali, Sacid, Reza and Hamed, 2016). In the same vein, the need for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to set the Nigerian financial system in tune with the global trends and creating a formidable economic growth in the country has facilitated the recent cashless policy embarked upon by the CBN. The cashless policy is a policy on cash-based transactions which stipulates a ‘cash handling charge’ on daily cash withdrawals or cash deposits that exceed 500,000 for individuals and 3,000,000 for corporate bodies. The goal of the policy is to reduce, not eliminating the amount of physical cash in circulation and at the same time encouraging more electronic-based transactions in Nigeria (CBN, 2012).
Consequently, a careful observation has shown that electronic banking gives competitive advantage to banks by reducing operational cost and provides the best ways of satisfying customer needs. As such many financial institutions in the country are directing their strategies towards increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty through improved service quality. Against this backdrop, money deposit banks in Nigeria are embracing the use of E-banking in their day-to-day operations, because electronic banking products and services delivery improve efficiency and effectiveness of bank operations so that huge volume of transactions can be processed faster and in the most convenient way. This will undoubtedly increase the overall performance of the banks in terms of a quick service delivery, reduction in the frequency of customer physical appearance and cash handling.
Due to the numerous benefits of electronic banking to the Nigerian economic activities, several attempts have been made by the scholars in the recent times to explore how electronic banking has satisfied the needs of customers of deposit money banks in the country. In light of the above, Iluno and Yakubu (2017) examined the linkage between E-commerce and customer satisfaction in Kaduna State Metropolis. In the same vein, Obikeze, Okolo, Okolo, Mmamel and Okonkwo, (2017) focused their study on some selected banks in Anambra State, Dedekuma1 and Ndugbe (2017) some selected banks in Asaba Metropolis in Delta State. Ogunlowore and Oladele (2014) and Adewoye (2013) carried out their studies in Lagos state, so also Babatunde and Salawudeen (2017), Taiwo and Agwu, (2017) carried out the same study in Nigeria. It is worth of note that the majority of studies on this subject matter have not fully explored Ogun state in the recent time, the gap in which this study intends to fill. The uniqueness of this study also lies in the adoption of new methodology in which majority of past studies have undermined. Therefore, this study will cover ten (10) selected deposit money banks in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria.