Security most important to retaining mobile banking customers, NTU-WeBank study finds

A study by a research team from NTU Singapore and China's first digital-only bank WeBank has found that security, service quality and system quality are the most important factors for customers who use mobile banking. The researchers said that although the study was conducted in China, the results are applicable to other countries where mobile banking has a high level of adoption, such as Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Assoc Prof Xu Hong, from NTU’s SSS who led the study, said: "It was already known that all these factors: security, service quality, system quality, and interface design had an impact on customers, and this study highlights implications for banks' strategies for retaining their mobile banking users, as well as exploring how to capture new customers."

Asst Prof Yu Han from NTU’s SCSE, who co-led the research, said: "Our study has implications for banks' strategies for retaining their mobile banking users, as well as exploring how to capture new customers." Assoc Prof Xu and Asst Prof Yu are part of the team at the Joint NTU-WeBank Research Centre on Fintech, which initiated this study. NTU Senior Vice President (Research) Professor Lam Khin Yong, added: "The NTU-WeBank partnership is another example of the University's strong links with the private sector. It also shows our strong support for industry collaborations that accelerates the translation of research into innovation and commercial adoption. This study also serves as a good example of interdisciplinary research involving faculty from the social sciences and computer science, as it solves a very important issue in today's fintech industry."