Digital Banking Experience and Customer Loyalty: Satisfaction as a Driver, Age as a Lens

This study investigates the influence of Digital Banking Experience (DBE), Customer Overall Satisfaction (COS), and Age Group on customer loyalty within the digital banking sector of emerging markets. Grounded in Expectation-Confirmation Theory and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2), loyalty is conceptualised as an outcome of experiential quality, satisfaction-driven commitment, and generationally shaped adoption behaviours. Data were collected through a quantitative survey of 385 digital banking users across Vietnam and other Southeast Asian economies, employing a 5-point Likert scale. The findings reveal that DBE (β = 0.74) and COS (β = 0.69) have strong positive effects on loyalty, while Age Group (β = 0.53) significantly moderates the satisfaction-loyalty relationship, intensifying it among younger cohorts and weakening it among older users. By integrating digital experience, satisfaction mechanisms, and demographic diversity, this study addresses a key gap in loyalty research and advances both theoretical understanding and managerial strategies for sustaining trust and long-term engagement in digital financial services.