On rational choice, risk and utility in mobile banking

The diffusion of mobile banking technology in South African (SA) banking institutions offers a unique and incisive approach towards analysis of risk associated with the protection of banking clientele´s information. There is emerging discourse towards South African clientele awareness surrounding privacy issues. The paper conceptualizes the underlying banking clientele´s awareness of issues such as risk, security and information protection policies. The key concern is the impact such awareness has on the choice of subscribing to mobile banking services. Rational Choice Theory (RCT) has been used as a theoretical lens to abstract banking clientele reasoning. The paper attempts to explain, using RCT, the risk/utility trade-off and the clienteles´ willingness to subscribe to mobile banking services. Quantitative research method has been used for this purpose. Purposeful sampling that targeted SA bank-account holders was applied. Empirical results show that the South African banked clienteles´ awareness is largely driven by the perceived utility of a mobile technology (mobile banking service) and interestingly, risk and information protection play a lesser role in this trade-off.