Mediating role of perceived service quality between behavioral characteristics, security risk and internet banking usage

Internet banking is an essential component of banking. However, most bank customers in Nigeria do not make optimal use of the service. The paper investigates the influence of behavioral characteristics, security risk and perceived service quality on internet banking usage. A research model was developed by incorporating security risk to the antecedent variables of the Theory of Planned Behavior with perceived service quality serving as a mediator. A questionnaire was utilized to gather information from 333 bank customers who had signed up for internet banking. According to the results of structural equation modeling, internet banking usage is positively correlated with subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and perceived service quality. Security risk, on the other hand, has a negative correlation. The use of internet banking is unaffected by one's attitude. Regarding the relationship with perceived service quality, attitude and subjective norm were insignificant, while perceived behavioral control and security risk were significant. The mediating effect indicates that perceived service quality did not mediate the association between attitude and internet banking usage. However, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and security risk partially mediate the relationship. Thus, aside from attitude, the study confirms the Theory of Planned Behavior. The findings provide essential insights into internet banking usage behavior, which is relevant to bank managers and industry regulators.