digital banking

With advanced information and communication technology, the organizations’ business model has undergone fundamental changes. These changes are also observed in the banking industry. This research aims at explaining the Iranian electronic banking business model and recognizing its challenges in the transformation to digital banking, which is considered as the research innovation. In terms of method, the present research is a qualitative study and in terms of goal, it is primary research. In this research, grounded theory has been used as a systematic method for the investigation of complex multilateral issues. The population includes the expert managers of the banking industry who have mastery over macro policies of banking and electronic payment in Iran. Regarding the research method, all the interviews were recorded and converted to text. The coding and classification process was done based on three stages of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. The outputs of these three stages were provided in the form of codes, concepts, and categories. During and after data collection, the data were reviewed for several times, the key points were specified, and the related codes were counted. Finally, 761 codes, 26 concepts, and 14 categories related to the research topic were identified based on which, the conceptual business model of Iranian electronic banking was developed. Based on the conceptual model of the research, seven challenges for digital banking transformation were identified.

Digital banking (DB) is becoming a popular choice for many customers who value convenience and efficiency. However, it is also important to evaluate how well Internet banks perform in terms of customer satisfaction. This study aims to comprehensively identify and evaluate suitable indicators for DB implementation to promote its acceptance among users. Both financial institutions and customers perceive Internet banking services as more convenient compared to conventional branch-based services. We employed two techniques: The Importance-Performance Matrix and the Analytical Hierarchy Process. The Importance-Performance Matrix helped us rank the identified factors according to their importance and urgency for improving the bank’s performance. The analytical hierarchy process helped us compare and weigh the relative importance of various criteria and sub-criteria that affect the bank’s performance. According to our findings, the bank’s performance was influenced by five factors: ease of use, privacy, speed, human resources, and technology. We also discovered that ease of use and privacy were the most urgent factors that required immediate attention from the bank. Therefore, we advise that Tejarat Internet Bank's services focus on enhancing security and ease of use as their top priorities to improve their performance. This research introduces a novel perspective by switching the typical focus of online banking research from corporate entities to individual clients, this research offers an innovative point of view. Our investigation provides valuable insights useful for retail banking and banks that deal with corporate clients by extensively comparing and evaluating the unique requirements of these two consumer segments.