ASSESSMENT OF ELECTRONIC BANKING SERVICES IN ISLAMIC BANKS BAHRAIN’S PERSPECTIVE

Abstract: The study aims to assess the electronic banking services in Islamic banks in Bahrain. The investigation was based on qualitative and quantitative design using the questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Quota sampling was employed to 200 bank customers. The respondents agreed that there is the existing electronic banking services in terms of application for loan and credit card with an overall composite mean of 4.02; personal account-3.94; payment of bills- 3.89 and transfer of funds-3.96 respectively. Likewise, the bank customers have expectations as to the electronic services in terms of the variables cited as revealed by overall mean of 4.01 in application for loan and credit card; personal account-3.91; payment of bills-4.0 and transfer of funds- 3.89 respectively. In terms of application for loan and credit card, personal account and payment of bills, the computed sig. (2-tailed) value of .108 of the first, computed sig. (2-tailed) value of .284 of the second and the computed sig. (2-tailed) value of .966 indicated the acceptance of the null hypothesis. Therefore, there is no divergence between the status and the level of expectation on the electronic banking services in Islamic banks in Bahrain in relations to application for loan and credit card, personal account and payment of bills. However, in terms of transfer of funds, the computed sig. (2-tailed) value of .002 showed the rejection of the null hypothesis. Therefore, there is considerable divergence between the status and the level of expectation on the electronic banking services in Islamic banks when it pertains to transfer of funds. Customers find difficulty in executing the electronic banking services due to lots of information required in the application of loans and credit cards and takes long time to release the loan. Regarding personal account, customers are apprehensive for it lacks confidentiality and can easily be hacked. Hence, they cannot easily access and have difficulty in logging in. As to payment of bills, customers find difficulty in going to the bank to pay their bills and no confirmation received when payment is executed. Moreover, there is no monthly updates issued by the bank and Islamic banks are not entertaining other currencies except Bahrain dinar. Pertaining to transfer of funds, Islamic banks have limited number of branches to accommodate customers and it takes time to transfer funds.

Keywords: Electronic banking service, Islamic bank, Syariah principles