User-Centered Internet Bank Usability Evaluation Model

Nowadays, with the expansion of the Internet, deep changes have been taken place in the traditional structures of service delivery, and the banking industry has entered a new arena not only in line with other industries but also as one of the pioneers in using new technologies. Since the only interface between the bank and the customer is the user interface in the Internet environment, ease of use or usability, which is the key to the success of websites, has also gained special importance and not paying attention to this issue lead to the migration of customers to banks that have more usable websites. The aim of this study was to identify the appropriate dimensions for evaluating the usability of Internet-banks using a qualitative method of theme analysis (based on a comprehensive literature review and interviews with experts) and finally a user-centered Internet-usability evaluation model was designed. In the proposed model, seven dimensions of online service effectiveness, perceived security, user effort, usable design, communicativeness, comprehensiveness and learnability as internal dimensions as well as satisfaction as a result of usability were introduced. The distinguishing feature of this model from previous models is the perceived security dimension in the Internet-Banks’ context. Since overtime the line between usability and other quality factors was blurred, another innovation of the proposed model is classifying such terms as the effectiveness of technical services of the website. In case of Internet-Banks in addition to optimizing usability dimensions, it is recommended to use secure and easy authentication methods.