Despite the benefits that mobile banking has to offer, coupled with positive mobile penetration rates, the use of mobile devices to perform banking transactions and access financial information is not as widespread as expected. The significantly sized Generation Y cohort is a rewarding market segment for retail banks. In South Africa, however, this cohort’s mobile banking adoption is largely under-researched. Understanding the antecedents that positively influence Generation Y students’ attitudes towards and usage behavior of mobile banking will assist retail banks in their efforts to tailor their business and marketing strategies effectively towards this cohort, and in doing so, foster increased acceptance of their mobile channels. As such, the purpose of this study was to extend the technology acceptance model (TAM) and determine the influence of perceived ease of use, relative advantage, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, perceived integrity and the perceived system quality of mobile banking on South African Generation Y students’ attitudes towards and usage behavior of mobile banking. Following a descriptive research design, self-administered questionnaires were completed by a non-probability convenience sample of 334 students registered at the campuses of three registered public South African universities located in the Gauteng province. Data analysis included correlation analysis and structural equation modeling. The findings suggest that while perceived ease of use, perceived integrity and the perceived system quality predict Generation Y students’ mobile banking usage behavior, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and the perceived relative advantage of mobile banking predict attitudes towards mobile banking, which, in turn, predict their mobile banking usage behavior.

Mobile banking represents an important addition to retail banks’ digital banking channels and a salient tool for servicing both current and future customers. However, given the cybernetic nature of mobile banking, there is a certain degree of uncertainty and perceived risk associated with the use thereof. This uncertainty and perceived risk elevate the importance of trust in fostering mobile banking adoption. The Generation Y cohort, which encompasses today’s youth, represents an important current and future banking segment and their adoption of mobile banking channels could have a significant effect on the cost of servicing members of this cohort. Understanding the factors that positively contribute to the Generation Y cohort’s trust in mobile banking will help retail banks to better market their mobile banking channels to members of this cohort and thereby foster greater adoption of such channels. The study reported in this article considers the influence of the perceived integrity of the bank and the perceived system quality of mobile banking on Generation Y students’ perceived trust in mobile banking in the South African context. Data were gathered from a convenience sample of 334 students registered at three public South African university campuses using a self-administered questionnaire. The gathered data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and bivariate regression analysis. The results of the study suggest that Generation Y students’ perceived integrity of a bank, together with the perceived system quality of mobile banking, has a significant positive influence on their perceived trust in mobile banking.

The sustainability and survival of universities in the highly competitive local and global markets are increasingly dependent on the effectiveness of a website. This is because university websites serve as an important marketing tool and are considered a primary source of information to all stakeholders, particularly prospective and current students. The number of Generation Y students registering at higher education institutions increases annually. It is therefore essential to understand the factors that influence these students' university website usage intention. As such, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of perceived trust, satisfaction and attitude on intention to use university websites amongst South African Generation Y students. Self-administered questionnaires were used to survey a convenience sample of 319 Generation Y students registered at the campuses of two Gauteng-based higher education institutions in South Africa. The statistical techniques used to analyse the data included descriptive statistics, Pearson's product-moment correlation analysis, reliability measures and structural equation modelling. The results of the study suggest that the participants' perceived satisfaction with university websites has a significant positive influence on their perceived trust in university websites, which, in turn, has a significant positive influence on their attitude towards university websites. Subsequently, attitude towards university websites has a significant positive influence on Generation Y students' university website usage intention. Understanding the factors that positively influence the sampled participants' university website usage intention can assist universities in gearing their online marketing strategies more successfully towards this market segment, and in doing so, increase their website penetration rate and student numbers.

Personal financial management is important, given uncertainties in both financial and economic environment. However, published research on African Generation Y students’ personal finance behavior and knowledge is limited. This study aimed to evaluate African Generation Y students’ personal finance behavior in terms of their attitudes towards financial planning and whether this cohort believes that they have the skills to manage their finances successfully. In addition, this study sought to evaluate African Generation Y students’ knowledge regarding personal finance. A convenience sample of 500 African students across the campuses of two South African public higher education institutions situated in the Gauteng province was surveyed using structured, self-administered questionnaires. The t-test results indicate that the sample deems the process of planning personal finances and managing credit, insurance, investment, and estate, as important. Moreover, the students scored low in the broad personal finance knowledge areas of basic finance, saving, spending, and debt, suggesting that this cohort is financially illiterate. The results also indicated that the students think they have the financial skillset to manage their personal finances. A high Pearson’s correlation coefficient was noted between sampled participants’ personal finance behavior and their observed personal finance management skillset regarding the relationship between the constructs. However, an insignificant relationship was found between attitudes towards personal finance and financial knowledge and between financial knowledge and African Generation Y students’ apparent finance skills. Understanding African Generation Y students’ personal finance behavior and knowledge, universities and financial institutions can more effectively identify gaps and deficiencies in students’ personal finance endeavors.