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Field
Last Published
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Before
July 16, 2024 03:33 PM
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After
October 21, 2024 12:39 AM
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Field
Intervention (Public)
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Before
We conduct a field experiment with elderly customers of a large German savings bank to study the effect of different education approaches for technology adoption and lifelong learning on internet banking adoption at the extensive and at the intensive margin. We use traditional information-based approaches and approaches emphasizing non-technical adoption skills in a social learning context. Our target group consists of clients aged 50-85 who have not used internet banking in the recent past.
In total, there are four experimental groups: i) silent control group that we do not contact, ii) baseline treatment group (traditional, technical information-based approach), iii) non-technical treatment group I (coaching at home), iv) non-technical treatment group II (coaching in person). Note that participants never log into their own private internet banking as part of the training for data protection reasons. Instead, we use a demo tool.
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After
We conduct a field experiment with elderly customers of a large German savings bank to study the effect of different education approaches for technology adoption and lifelong learning on internet banking (IB) adoption at the extensive and at the intensive margin. We use traditional information-based approaches and approaches emphasizing non-technical adoption skills in a social learning context. Our target group consists of clients aged 50-85 who have not used internet banking in the recent past.
In total, there are four experimental groups: i) silent control group that we do not contact, ii) baseline treatment group (traditional, technical information-based approach), iii) non-technical treatment group I (coaching at home), iv) non-technical treatment group II (coaching in person). Note that participants never log into their own private internet banking as part of the training for data protection reasons. Instead, we use a demo tool.
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Field
Primary Outcomes (End Points)
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Before
Internet banking adoption (extensive and intensive margins)
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After
Internet banking adoption (extensive and intensive margins); treatment take-up, attrition, effects of non-random assignment
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Field
Primary Outcomes (Explanation)
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Before
Extensive margin: Adoption level 1: Activation (YES/NO) of IB (browser and / or app), adoption level 2 (conditional on activation): login following intervention; any online transactions (YES/NO, conditional on some transaction conducted)
Intensive margin: Number and share of online transactions (conditional on some transaction conducted), days since last login
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After
Extensive margin: Adoption level 1: Activation (YES/NO) of IB (browser and / or app), adoption level 2 (conditional on activation): login following intervention; any online transactions (YES/NO, conditional on some transaction conducted)
Intensive margin: Number and share of online transactions (conditional on some transaction conducted), days since last login
Treatment take-up: Binary indicators capturing interest in and completion of treatment.
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Field
Experimental Design (Public)
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Before
Respondents to a call for participation sent out by the bank in July 2024 are randomly assigned (subject to some restrictions outlined in the experimental details below) to one of three treatment conditions (baseline, non-technical treatment I and non-technical treatment II) with a limited number of slots available in the non-technical treatments due to budget constraints.
Those in the baseline treatment group receive training material via e-mail, containing all technical information about the key functions of internet banking. Those in the non-technical groups receive additional material that addresses non-technical skills in addition and that is designed to be worked with at home (non-technical group I) or in an in-person course with peers (non-technical group II).
We, thus, use a between-subject design. Survey capacities permitting, we plan to include some survey measures before and after the treatment to use within-subject variation in the analysis of mechanisms.
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After
Respondents to a call for participation sent out by the bank in July 2024 are randomly assigned (subject to some restrictions outlined in the experimental details below) to one of three treatment conditions (baseline, non-technical treatment I and non-technical treatment II) with a limited number of slots available in the non-technical treatments due to budget constraints.
Those in the baseline treatment group receive training material containing all technical information about the key functions of internet banking. Those in the non-technical groups receive additional material that addresses non-technical skills in addition and that is designed to be worked with at home (non-technical group I) or in an in-person course with peers (non-technical group II). All material is made available through a designated online platform, which also provides video summaries of the material.
We, thus, use a between-subject design. Survey capacities permitting, we plan to include some survey measures before and after the treatment to use within-subject variation in the analysis of mechanisms.
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Field
Planned Number of Clusters
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Before
We invite 23,500 clients who have not recently used internet banking (10,000 by letter, 13,500 by email) to participate. We expect a response rate of 2 percent.
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After
We invite 23,500 clients who have not recently used internet banking (10,000 by letter, 13,500 by email) to participate. We expect a response rate of 2 percent.
Update October 2024 (before final intervention data is available): We invited 25,982 customers who had not recently used IB (12,482 by letter, 13,500 by letter) to participate.
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Field
Planned Number of Observations
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Before
We invite 23,500 clients who have not recently used internet banking (10,000 by letter, 13,500 by email) to participate. We expect a response rate of 2 percent.
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After
Update October 2024 (before final intervention data is available): We invited 25,982 customers who had not recently used IB (12,482 by letter, 13,500 by letter) to participate.
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Field
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
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Before
Silent control: ca. 4,200 individuals (ca. 700 from the group of clients we could have contacted via email)
Baseline treatment: 100 individuals
Non-technical treatment I: 150 individuals
Non-technical treatment II: 150 individuals
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After
Silent control: 1,725 (725 from the group of clients we could have contacted via email)
Main sample:
Baseline treatment: 99 individuals
Non-technical treatment I: 34 individuals
Non-technical treatment II: 200 individuals
Full sample:
Baseline treatment: 252 individuals
Non-technical treatment I: 49 individuals
Non-technical treatment II: 250 individuals
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Field
Power calculation: Minimum Detectable Effect Size for Main Outcomes
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Before
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After
We will use the 10% threshold for statistical significance due to sample size.
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Field
Intervention (Hidden)
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Before
In terms of the technical information on internet banking that they provide, all treatment groups use the same curriculum consisting of three modules: The first module covers all key features of the bank’s internet banking platform and the bank’s security architecture. The second module guides participants through a demo version of the bank’s internet banking platform. It illustrates the login process using hypothetical login details and a simulated transaction authentication number (TAN) confirmation and the various functional areas of the platform (financial overview displaying all account balances, transaction history and details of specific accounts, messages, account settings, etc.). In the third module, participants are confronted with five standard internet banking tasks in the demo tool that they are asked to complete.
The two treatment conditions that foster non-technical skills offer non-informational support in addition to the modules outlined above. To strengthen non-technical skills (such as curiosity, confidence, or emotional regulation), they use distinct social settings: Non-technical treatment group I involves relatives or friends supporting the elderly clients in the education intervention. Participants in this group are expected to nominate an IB-savy person from their social circle, such as a relative, friend or neighbor (we will refer to this person as a “relative” from now on for expositional reasons) and to complete a two-hour training session with the relative by a given deadline. We provide the relative with material that guides them in relaying non-technical skills to the treated person. Non-technical treatment group II includes on-site training in small groups of peers with networking opportunities and a pleasant atmosphere. Participants in this group receive a two-hour training session in the bank's educational center with 10-25 peers. Our teaching strategies in both non-technical treatment groups revolve around making emotions and required coping mechanisms explicit in the intervention and building on prior knowledge and experiences to boost confidence and curiosity.
We track compliance in all groups by measuring whether and how frequently a client has accessed the learning platform containing the instructional video and material. We track compliance for non-technical group I (relative / friend) by requiring clients in this group to submit a selfie with their friend/relative to the bank in order to be eligible for receiving the voucher. We track compliance for non-technical group II by documenting attendance at the on-site training. The effectiveness of the educational approaches is measured by transactional banking data such as the number and share of online transactions and the date of the most recent internet banking login. Furthermore, we use survey measures to identify mechanisms like obstacles in internet banking use, openness to technology / technophobia, computer / internet banking skills, perceived benefits of internet banking, and financial literacy.
Note that upon first contact, all three contacted groups received information on how to set up their personal internet banking account upon request by our partner bank. This information was identical for all groups. We do not consider it part of the treatment variation (in the intervention, we rely solely on a demo tool) but will discuss it in comparisons with the silent control group.
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After
In terms of the technical information on internet banking that they provide, all treatment groups use the same curriculum consisting of three modules: The first module covers all key features of the bank’s internet banking platform and the bank’s security architecture. The second module guides participants through a demo version of the bank’s internet banking platform. It illustrates the login process using hypothetical login details and a simulated transaction authentication number (TAN) confirmation and the various functional areas of the platform (financial overview displaying all account balances, transaction history and details of specific accounts, messages, account settings, etc.). A video that walks participants through these modules is made available to all participants in the treatment groups (for in-person participants, this video is made available after the in-person session). In the third module, participants are confronted with five standard internet banking tasks in the demo tool that they are asked to complete.
The two treatment conditions that foster non-technical skills offer non-technical support in addition to the modules outlined above. To strengthen non-technical skills (such as curiosity, confidence, or emotional regulation), they use distinct social settings: Non-technical treatment group I involves relatives or friends supporting the elderly clients in the education intervention. Participants in this group are expected to nominate an IB-savy person from their social circle, such as a relative, friend or neighbor (we will refer to this person as a “relative” from now on for expositional reasons) and to complete a two-hour training session with the relative by a given deadline. We provide the relative with material that guides them in relaying non-technical skills to the treated person. The relative receives a voucher as an incentive. Non-technical treatment group II includes on-site training in small groups of peers with networking opportunities and in a pleasant atmosphere. Participants in this group receive a two-hour training session in the bank's educational center in small groups of no more than 15 peers (since there are up to two groups in parallel, coffee break networking may include up to 30 peers). Our teaching strategies in both non-technical treatment groups revolve around making emotions and required coping mechanisms explicit in the intervention and building on prior knowledge and experiences to boost confidence and curiosity.
We track compliance in all groups by measuring whether and how frequently a client has accessed the learning platform containing the instructional video and material. We track compliance for non-technical group I (relative / friend) by requiring clients in this group to submit a selfie with their friend/relative and answers to questions on the demo tool tasks they completed in the study session to the bank in order to be eligible for receiving the voucher. We track compliance for non-technical group II by documenting attendance at the on-site training.
The effectiveness of the educational approaches is measured by IB activation as well as transactional banking data such as the number and share of online transactions and the date of the most recent internet banking login. Furthermore, we use survey measures to identify mechanisms like obstacles in IB use, openness to technology / technophobia, computer / internet banking skills, perceived benefits of internet banking, and financial literacy, as well as usage intensity.
Note that upon first contact, all three contacted groups received information on how to set up their personal internet banking account upon request by our partner bank. This information was identical for all groups. We do not consider it part of the treatment variation (in the intervention, we rely solely on a demo tool) but will discuss it in comparisons with the silent control group.
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Field
Secondary Outcomes (End Points)
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Before
IB beliefs and perception, IB skills, technophobia, non-technical adoption skills (i.e., emotional regulation, coping strategies, ...)
Heterogeneity analysis by gender (see large literature on financial dependence), age (exploratively, to shed more light on the understudied group of elderly in the context of lifelong learning), training completion, and baseline skills.
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After
IB beliefs and perception, IB skills, technophobia, non-technical adoption skills (i.e., emotional regulation, coping strategies, ...)
Heterogeneity analysis by gender (see large literature on financial dependence), age (exploratively, to shed more light on the understudied group of elderly in the context of lifelong learning), training completion, and baseline skills.
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