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As the popularity of Islamic banking and financial instruments continues to rise globally, a recurring empirical question is what specifically makes consumers choose Islamic banking. This paper aims to investigate the determinants of bank type selection, especially in culturally diverse settings where the Islamic banking sector is well-established. It further examines whether consumers’ gender/religion influences their choices. One intuitive prediction is that Muslim consumers opt for Islamic banking products as “ethical” because of conviction-related reasons. However, the reality is not necessarily straightforward.

This paper uses structural equation modeling to examine data collected from a survey questionnaire of 790 respondents in an emerging market setting. Further analysis is made based on gender and religion to remove related bias.

Results suggest that overall consumer awareness significantly affects the selection of Islamic banking products. The positive effect of awareness is more significant for Muslim consumers relative to non-Muslims. Interestingly, social stimuli and bank attributes have an insignificant effect on the banking choices of both Muslims and non-Muslims.

Results suggest that Islamic banks’ marketing managers should adopt differentiated strategies for men and women, focusing on the core benefits of the service or personal interactions with consumers, respectively, along with a focus on different aspects of personal service for each gender. Awareness should be enhanced by adopting informative and effective marketing strategies to attract and retain consumers in the competitive bank environment. Islamic banks (IB) should pay attention to the religious effect without considering it as the sole variable motivating potential customers. They should design segmented and customized marketing strategies based on gender-religion market segmentation to suit different groups’ needs.

The findings fill a gap in the literature and provide Islamic bankers with insights to help design and articulate their business strategies to appeal to consumers in a multicultural context. Examining an integral part of gender and religion mitigates biased estimates due to the omission of variables. The study contributes to the existing literature on customer preferences for IB with a relatively large, new data set.

The main aim of this paper is to identify whether certain consumers behave irrationally when it comes to select banking products. This paper builds on one of the most significant banking products that is the credit card.

This is an exploratory research paper. Therefore, only descriptive analysis on the differences between three credit card user groups such as the Islamic credit card users, conventional card users and users who decide to use both credit cards, conventional and Islamic, were presented.

The demographic and psychographic factors for the three different groups differ. In addition, there are four factors that influence the credit card selection. The factors are insurance/takaful provided by the credit issuers, cost associated with the credit card, the reward points programme offered and the convenience factors. Furthermore, the study found that three of the factors except insurance/takaful are significantly different between three credit card groups.

This paper is limited to the context of Malaysia and the respondents are mostly from the same ethnic. Therefore, it could not be generalised in the context of other countries and further studies comparing different culture or ethnic could benefit and enrich the topic of study.

The Islamic and conventional banks could focus on several factors influencing customers’ selection and could focus to improve certain lacking areas as perceived by the consumers. The ability to increase the perceptions of the consumers regarding their credit cards will enable their products to be chosen in the market.

There was a significant amount of literature discussed in the Islamic banking selection factors. However, little attention being paid to the selection of a specific bank’s product. This study offers a study that looks into the selection of the credit card offered by the banks in respect to the irrational behaviours of the religious consumers in economic activities as compared to the conventional economists. This paper will contribute to the body of existing literature of banking selection.

This paper aims to investigate the differences in patronage factors influencing “retail customers” and “institutional clients” to bank Islamically and to identify the reasons bankers perceive that their customers’ bank with them in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

A total of 237; 416; and 70 balanced responses were collected from Islamic bankers, retail customers and institutional clients of UAE, respectively. Weighted average scores were computed for ranking the selection criteria factors across the data set and paired comparison analysis was conducted to analyse the variation of selection criteria between the data sets.

Empirical results indicate that Islamic banking practitioners maintain an identical perception with retail customers in relation to the selection criteria of Islamic banking products and services, with the “Sharīʿah-compliance” factor dominating other factors under examination. With respect to the perception regarding institutional/corporate clients, Islamic bankers exhibited a divergent perception in connection with selection criteria of Islamic banking products and services and the factor “cost and affordability” and “rates and return” are prioritized above factor “Sharīʿah-compliance”.

The scope of the study is limited to a single country. Hence, the finding of this study cannot be generalized to the other regions. Although the study covers a considerable sample from each segment, still there is an avenue for improvement by covering more respondents into the survey. Consequently, the results of this study should be read with these limitations. Further, analysis of the variation among intra divisions of each segment such as Muslim and non-Muslim with respect to retail customers; the different level of management at the banks and focusing the specific sector of the industry is beyond the scope of this study. These directions provide avenues for future research.

The study provides useful insights for bankers to revisit their marketing strategies to attract and retain more clients. Hence, the findings also suggest policy recommendations for nascent Islamic banking markets to move to the next stages of maturity. The findings of this study have implications for firms’ strategic directions and future investments of organizations, especially when the competition in the industry is intense. Future studies are recommended in other countries where the Islamic financial market share is significant.

While ample perception studies have carried out in the Islamic banking industry of the UAE, studies that focus on institutional clients, especially with reference to the factors that determine the selection criteria; studies examining banker’s perception towards Islamic banks and their clients (retail and institutional); studies that reconcile the perception of bankers and customers (retail and institutional) are all inadequately covered in existing literatures. This study attempts to fill some of these significant gaps.

This study aims to offers a deeper insight into bank selection of Ghanaian students so as to offer bank managers the opportunity to tailor‐measure programmes aimed at attracting and retaining customers.

The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the problem. The “drop and pick” convenience sampling method adopted resulted in 223 completed questionnaires. The mean ranking and factor analysis methods were employed to identify the major factors that influence the respondent bank selection.

Over all, student customers consider image, attitude and behaviour of staff, core service delivery and technology‐related factors as the major issues that influence consumers' decision to open and maintain an account.

The limitation of the study relates to the student population used for the study, which limits the generalisability of the findings. The study, however, contributes to the academic knowledge of bank selection and provides insights into the critical factors considered by sample students in their bank selection decisions.

In a market where consumers respond differently to a marketing offer, market segmentation becomes a necessity and therefore differences in male and female consumers' selection criteria emanating from this study provide an excellent opportunity for the banks to adopt segmentation‐based strategies to serve the customers.

In this paper, gender and educational level provide a deeper understanding of bank selection criteria among the Ghanaian bank customers. The four constructs can be used by bank management as bases for designing marketing strategies to deliver efficient service, and engage in relationship marketing practices to attract and retain customers.

Islamic banking is an emerging financial system in the contemporary world. Currently, it is found mostly in Islamic countries or in countries where OPEC oil revenues have been invested. Most of the research has therefore been oriented towards macro‐environment issues, ignoring the market‐oriented problems. The purpose of this paper is to determine the conditions under which Islamic banks can successfully compete with conventional banks by understanding customer attitudes towards Islamic banking products.

A sample of 250 respondents was taken from four cities of Pakistan to examine customer awareness of key products/services being offered by Islamic banks, usage of those services and customer satisfaction with the service delivery mechanism being used by pure Islamic banks and conventional banks with Islamic bank branches (IBBs). Data for this study were collected by using a structured questionnaire containing two sections, where section I contains ten statements using Likert scale, for assessing customer's preferred selection criteria for Islamic banks. These statements are developed based on past literature. Section II deals with the questions related to the social and demographic profiles of respondents.

Analysis of data indicated that most of the customers value product features and quality of service as major factors for making selection of Islamic banks, and give lesser importance to religious belief as influential factor in selecting an Islamic bank. Findings suggest that there is a lack of awareness about basic conventions of Islamic financing options among respondents and customers of both the pure Islamic banks and conventional banks with IBBs do believe that the bank's staff lacks ability to provide credible information about religious compliance of Islamic banking financial services.

The paper has practical significance for Islamic banking policy makers, for understanding the key behavioral and demographical dimensions of their customers and using these dimensions for effectively positioning Islamic banking financial instruments, developing policies; and articulating procedures to maximize customer satisfaction and to ensure better exchange of value.

The paper aims to investigate small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) bank selection and patronage behaviour in the Ghanaian banking sector.

A detailed literature review was used to identify five determinants of bank selection and other patronage factors which were used to survey 503 SMEs randomly selected from the data base of the National Board for Small Scale Industries in Ghana. Exploratory factor analysis, multiple regression and correlation analysis were used for the data analysis.

The study found price competitiveness, credit availability, perceived service quality, staff attributes and bank attributes as determinants of SME bank selection. In addition, loans and overdrafts, cash collection, transfers, bank guarantees, advisory services and training were among the core services patronized by the SMEs.

The study highlights the importance of factors considered important to the SME bank selection and patronage behaviour. It thus provides practical leverage to banks on how to attract, serve and retain SMEs in Ghana.

The study is the first of its kind that investigated both bank selection and patronage behaviour at the same time and provides important insight for banks on how to attract, satisfy and manage SMEs. It also makes a major contribution to the literature on SME banking behaviour especially in a sub-Saharan Africa and responds to the recent call for more studies on SME practices in emerging economies.

This study aimed to explore the importance of various factors considered in the bank selection decisions of micro- and small-sized enterprises (MSEs) in Ethiopia.

The study used a structured questionnaire to collect data from 300 MSEs selected through a convenience sampling technique. Descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and linear regression analysis methods are used to identify the most important factors determining bank selection by MSEs.

The results of exploratory factor analysis revealed that the availability of credit at a reasonable interest rate, lower service charges and the availability of better automated teller machine (ATM) services are the priorities of MSEs in their bank selection decisions. In addition, the results of regression analysis indicated that price competitiveness is the most important factor determining bank selection decisions of MSEs.

This study has two major limitations: first, due to resource constraints, the samples included in this study were taken only from the capital city of the country, Addis Ababa. As customer preferences are likely to vary from region to region, future studies could be carried out by including samples from other cities and rural areas of the country. Second, the study relied on a single data collection instrument. The use of additional data collection instruments, such as interviews and focus group discussions, could provide additional insights into the topic.

Commercial banks need to devise a flexible lending policy and set affordable interest rates and collateral requirements to meet the credit needs of MSEs. MSEs, on the other hand, need to improve their bankability by improving their operating and financial reporting practices. Further research can be conducted by covering other cities and the rural parts of the country.

The topic of bank selection has not been explored with a specific reference to MSEs in Ethiopia. The present study addressed this gap by investigating the factors influencing bank selection decisions of MSEs.

This study aims to identify the determinants of bank selection for Islamic and conventional banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Data were collected from 246 respondents in the Emirates of Dubai and Sharjah and focused on aspects such as bank products, service quality, profit, reputation, cultural and religious factors, in addition to demographic attributes of the sample. Multiple discriminant analysis is used to identify the most important determinants of bank selection.

The study concluded that the determinants for bank selection are more distinguishable amongst Islamic bank customers. Bank reputation and expectation of profit on deposits are not determinants of bank selection; however, religious preferences are the most important considerations in selection between Islamic and conventional banks.

Use of convenience sampling due to lack of resources may result in insufficient representation of population. Additionally, analysis of differences between the Muslim and non‐Muslim population with respect to their bank selection process may provide an avenue for future research.

The study has implications for both Islamic and conventional banks that can appropriately target the customers using bank selection determinants that are valued by the customers.

The study adds to the existing literature on consumer preferences for Islamic and conventional banks in the context of the UAE with a relatively large and recent data set.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and comment on the factors used by Australian students to select their bank and the products and services they utilise, based on responses to an online questionnaire.

A mixed-methods approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods, was used to investigate this research issue. Convenience sampling resulted in 276 completed online responses. Mean ranking and factor analysis methods were employed to identify the key factors used in selecting a bank and frequency analysis used to examine the products and services utilised by students.

The key factors used by students to select a bank in Australia were bank competence, recommendations and outside influences, bank costs, returns and services, and finally location. The main bank products and services used by students were automated teller machines (ATMs), savings accounts, internet and telephone banking, and debit cards.

The use of an online survey which limits the pool of respondents to internet users and, the sample size limits generalisability of the findings.

Banks can better target and understand the key determinants used by students in selecting a bank and the products and services this group values. This will allow Australian banks to develop programs to better attract and retain student customers.

Provides insight to and understanding of the determinants used by students to select their bank and the products and services they utilise. Furthermore, this study fills a gap in the literature by focusing on the banking behaviour of Australian students, an important segment of bank customers previously under-researched.

Describes a study designed to investigate the banking behavior of Islamic bank customers in the state of Bahrain. The study sample comprised 300 customers. A comprehensive profile analysis and a series of chi‐square tests were conducted to reveal key characteristics and patterns: the majority of Islamic bank customers are well educated; approximately 80 per cent are between 25‐50 years of age; more than 50 per cent of the surveyed customers have maintained their current banking relationship with Islamic banks for more than six years; customers’ awareness and usage rates are quite high for savings accounts, current accounts, investment accounts and automated teller machines; customers were found to be most satisfied with the products/services they use most, with the investment accounts receiving the highest satisfaction score; Islamic bank employees received the highest satisfaction score among the elements of the service delivery system; the two most important bank selection criteria were adherence to the Islamic principles, followed by the rate of return.