Consumer Awareness and Adoption of Eco-Friendly Banking Services by Commercial Banks in Kannur District

Environmental sustainability has become an important concern for businesses, financial institutions and consumers. The banking sector, although not directly associated with heavy industrial pollution, can contribute considerably to sustainable development through the adoption and promotion of eco-friendly banking practices. Green or eco-friendly banking includes paperless banking, digital transactions, electronic communication, online bill payments, mobile banking, internet banking and environmentally responsible financial products. The present study examines consumer awareness and adoption of eco-friendly banking services offered by commercial banks in Kannur district. The study is descriptive in nature and is based on primary and secondary data. Primary data were collected from 60 respondents through a structured questionnaire using convenience sampling. Percentage analysis and weighted mean analysis were used to examine awareness, adoption patterns and factors influencing the use of eco-friendly banking services. The findings indicate that awareness of basic digital banking services such as internet banking, mobile banking and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is relatively high among respondents. However, awareness of advanced green banking initiatives, including green loans, green credit cards and solar-powered ATMs, remains comparatively low. It was found that about 70 per cent of the respondents use green banking facilities regularly which depicts a good development towards digital and green banking. However, the continued use of traditional banking implies that adoption is incomplete. Convenience, ease-of-use and perceived usefulness become the primary factors influencing adoption while environment concern becomes comparatively secondary. The results are discussed in the context of TAM. It is recommended that commercial banks must focus on educating customers, build digital capabilities and promote environmental advantages of digital banking as well as raise awareness of more sophisticated green banking solutions. Increased awareness of consumers will help to fill the gap between the availability of eco-friendly services and their adoption.