The customer awareness of islamic banking services in Somalia

Islamic banking in Somalia has recorded tremendous development and growth in the last two decades. However, the level of financing growth of Islamic banks has experienced a decline in recent years due to several factors, probably due to the customer awareness gap. Several studies have been conducted on the issues of customers’ awareness towards Islamic banking in some Islamic countries, and most of the literature focused on the acceptance towards Islamic banking products, with less attention given to awareness of Islamic banking services, especially in Somalia country. This study has been conducted to examine the relationship between attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, perception, and awareness of Islamic banking products by using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). 132 completed questionnaires were returned that measured the respondents’ awareness toward Islamic banking services; the findings of the study show that all four factors, namely, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, and perception, were found to be positively and significantly related to awareness of Islamic banking services. Attitude was found to be the most important factor influencing awareness towards Islamic banking services in Somalia. In general, the current study shows evidence that the Theory of Planned Behavior is applicable in measuring the awareness of Islamic banking services. The findings of this study can be useful for Islamic banking authorities and policymakers in making strategies to increase the demand for Islamic banking products