A tale of two FinTech solutions : Loyalty in mobile bank applications and initial trust in financial robo-advisors

Abstract: This thesis on financial technology (FinTech) solutions consists of twosuccessive phases, each including two articles. The first phase targets the loyalty of young bank customers (YBCs) to mobile bank applications (MBAs). One of the articles of this phase investigates the relationships between cognitive, affective, and conative antecedents, on one hand, and loyalty on the other. The other article identifies the relationships between usability, responsiveness, reliability, and customer satisfaction, on one hand, and loyalty on the other. Two electronic questionnaires were sent to 500 YBCs in Sweden, 146 responded, and covariance-based structural equation modelling was employed to analyse the data. The resulting model of YBCs’ loyalty to MBAs concludes that three attributes, i.e., memorability, confidentiality, and understandability, along with ease of use, ease of information search, and ease of navigation, determine the satisfaction of the younger generation and their loyalty to MBAs. The second phase focuses on the antecedents of building trust in financial robo-advisors (FRAs) based on the perceptions of young retail investors (YRIs). One of the two articles of this phase investigates building trust in technology through utilizing risk perspectives and the behavioural finance paradigm. The other article targets initial trust from the perspectives of the management discipline and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology. It tests whether the cultural variable ssuggested by previous studies moderate the relationship between the seantecedents and initial trust. Two electronic questionnaires were sent to YRIs in Sweden and Malaysia, and partial least squares structural equation modelling was employed to analyse the data. The resulting model of YRIs’ initial trust in FRAs emphasizes the essential role of personal attributes (trust propensity and decision style), information, and technological features in addressing initial trust, which in turn determines the behavioural intention to use FRAs. Most findings are similar in the two countries, with some indications of cultural differences in what influences young investors’ initial trust in robo-advisors. For example, price is perceived as more important in Sweden, while social networks seem to be more important in Malaysia. Despite some limitations, the thesis has novel implications for theory and practice. Synthesizing the results suggests that ease of use and cognitive features are highly important to FinTech solutions.