The drivers of retail digital banking channel acceptance in incumbent banks: a meta-analysis and future research directions

Global digitalization, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has fundamentally altered how customers engage with banking services. Focusing specifically on incumbent retail banks’ online banking websites and mobile banking applications, this study examines retail digital banking (RDB) channel acceptance rather than the broader digital banking domain that also includes digital-only banks and other fintech services. This study presents a large-scale meta-analysis of 117 studies on RDB acceptance, synthesizing 645 correlation-based effect sizes across 58 distinct relationships. The core contribution is the Retail Digital Banking Acceptance (RDBA) framework, which integrates five driver dimensions (user-centric, system-centric, trust and security, service and support, and social influence) with an outcome dimension spanning attitude, behavioural intention, and usage. The framework is intended as an evidence-based organizing structure that clarifies which relationships confirm established acceptance theories and which extend them through cross-domain linkages specific to incumbent-bank channels. These insights also inform the Retail Digital Banking Strategy Roadmap (RDBSR), a practitioner-focused blueprint for optimizing online and mobile banking. Finally, using the Theory, Context, Characteristics, and Methodology (TCCM) framework, this study proposes future research directions for RDB channels and related digital financial service contexts. Researchers and practitioners can apply these findings to better understand the drivers of RDB channel acceptance and to design more targeted engagement strategies.