Offline and online banking – where to draw the line when building trust in e‐banking?

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of situation normality cues (online attributes of the e‐banking web site) and structural assurance cues (size and reputation of the bank, and quality of traditional service at the branch) in a consumer's evaluation of the trustworthiness of e‐banking and subsequent adoption behaviour.

Data were collected from a survey and a usable sample of 202 was obtained. Hierarchical moderated regression analysis was used to test the model.

Traditional service quality builds customer trust in the e‐banking service. The size and reputation of the bank were found to provide structural assurance to the customer but not in the absence of traditional service quality. Web site features that give customers confidence are significant situation normality cues.

Bank managers have to realise that good service at the branch is a necessary condition for the promotion of e‐banking. They cannot rely on bank size and reputation to “sell” e‐banking.

This is the first study that examines how traditional service quality and a bank's size and reputation influences trust in e‐banking.