Borut Milfelner

Perceived service quality is a well-researched concept in the marketing literature. Several measurement scales have been proposed, including for banking services, but most apply to the physical service environment. On the other hand, there is a lack of instruments available to measure the quality of banking services in a digital environment. Nowadays, especially pushed by the COVID-19 situation and sustainable development goals promoted by the United Nations, digitalization of services is a new normal. It is often perceived as a green banking practice and a prerequisite to contribute to the SDGs and environment per se. The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a perceived quality scale of e-banking services. The proposed measurement model was tested on a convenience sample of 335 respondents from Slovenia and Croatia via web-based questionnaires. Content validity, construct validity, dimensionality, and discriminant validity were assessed with EFA and CFA. The results prove that the instrument is appropriate for measuring the perceived quality of e-banking services. It measures six dimensions: efficiency, availability, contact, design, security, and fulfillment. Additional group analysis shows that the scale applies to different cultural contexts. The main limitation of the research is that the instrument measures only the perceived quality of e-banking services provided through online channels. The main theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.