The Era of the Transition – From Traditional to Digital Banking

Abstract

The rapid growth of digitalization is being used for the betterment of the banking and financial services sector and many other industries. Digital banking (DB) is transforming traditional banking activities into a digital environment. The benefits and conveniences that DB bring to consumers and financial institutions (FIs) have led FIs to adopt various DB innovations. However, to determine whether the demand for DB is at a healthy level, it is necessary to evaluate how DB innovations are accepted among consumers. This chapter is a “viewpoint” of the author that reviews the background of DB in Sri Lanka (SL) and evaluates the success of its diffusion.

The status of the DB diffusion in SL is discussed under DB ecosystem, and DB customer adoption. The DB ecosystem is discussed through the topics of the country’s digital infrastructure (DI), technological know-how within the banks, technology adoption of the market vendors, and consumer’s digital literacy. Then, the consumer use of the DB services is evaluated using the transactions that happened through DB systems against paper-based payments. Statistics presented by Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) are used as secondary data for the study.

According to the findings of this report, consumer DB adaption is still in its infancy compared to the development of the country’s DB ecosystem. Considering the causes that drives consumer innovation decisions, this chapter highlights the need for industry practitioners to revisit their DB marketing strategies based on consumers’ culture and innovativeness. To that end, further studies are necessary on how individuals’ culture influences DB adoption.

Citation

Rathnayake, N.D.N.B. (2023), "The Era of the Transition – From Traditional to Digital Banking", Saini, A. and Garg, V. (Ed.) Transformation for Sustainable Business and Management Practices: Exploring the Spectrum of Industry 5.0, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 41-55. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80262-277-520231005