Cell Phone Banking Adoption in South Africa

Despite the exponential growth in cell phone usage in South Africa, from 13 million
subscribers in 2002 to at least 49 million subscribers today, uptake of cell phone banking in
the same period lags. Utilising Rogers’ innovation adoption framework, this research
examines banking consumers’ perceptions of cell phone banking attributes, and how these
may affect adoption. A survey of 124 cell phone users from Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and
Limpopo Provinces participated in the study. Results indicate an improvement in cell phone
banking uptake compared to past years. Perceptions of risk and security concerns appear to
slow the adoption rate. While banking institutions have done a lot in launching cell phone
banking, focussing attention on in-house promotion and customer demonstrations of cell
phone banking may further improve adoption rate.