consumer perception of Islamic banks: the case of Saudi Arabia

Journal Article

• Magazine \ Newspaper: Journal of Islamic Banking and Finance
• Issue Number: 4
• Volume Number: 31
• Pages: . 70 – 81

Publication Abstract

There is no clear line and distinction between Islamic and conventional banks in Saudi Arabia. Banks which are perceived as non-Islamic banks do offer various types of Islamic banking products beside their conventional products. Some of the banks are full-fledged Islamic banks. But the Saudi Arabian banks do not carry the word “Islamic” in their names, as it obtains in U.A.E, Malaysia, Pakistan etc. So, it is hypothesized that the general public might not attach significance to the distinction between Islamic and conventional banks. This paper is conducted to assess the perceptions of Saudi Arabian people on Islamic banking in Saudi Arabia, and to draw conclusions from their views about the degree of the Shariah compliance of the Islamic banking practice. The results of this paper imply that the customers are generally satisfied with the Islamic banking practice, but they want them to do more than current level because they perceive that their banking operations are just marginally Shariah compliant. The customers also generally disapprove of the window Islamic banking by the conventional banks.