Digital Banking and the Impersonalisation Barrier

Abstract

This chapter discusses bank customer perceptions of digital banking and the impersonalisation barrier. It compares the perceptions of various groups of customers based on empirical evidence from Sweden. In 2020, a pilot-tested online questionnaire was sent to young and old, urban and rural, and high- and low-income bank customer groups and the data were statistically analysed. Overall, it is argued that the impersonalisation barrier makes the ongoing transition from traditional to digital banking difficult. All studied groups, old bank customers in particular, perceive the impersonalisation barrier as significant. This indicates that the risk of the financial exclusion of some bank customer groups must be considered in an increasingly digital environment. However, the relatively low impersonalisation concerns among young bank customers indicate that this group represents a promising market for ongoing digital banking development. This group also stands out regarding its intention to increase the use of digital banking.