Customer Satisfaction and Financial Inclusion: The Role of Service Quality in Non-Banking Correspondents

Elena Piedra Bonilla; Betty  De La Hoz-Suárez; Juan Icaza-Castillo; Ana María  Padrón-Medina

Authors

Elena Piedra Bonilla Universidad Ecotec http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0387-9260
Betty De La Hoz-Suárez Universidad Ecotec http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5800-9775
Juan Icaza-Castillo Empresa Pública Municipal de Tránsito y Movilidad de Guayaquil (ATM) http://orcid.org/0009-0000-9528-8024
Ana María Padrón-Medina Universidad Ecotec http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4724-9543

Keywords:

Financial inclusion, Service quality, Customer satisfaction, Financial services, SERVQUAL

Abstract

This research analyzes the relationship between customer satisfaction with non-banking correspondent services and financial inclusion. For this study, the SERVQUAL model was used to measure customer satisfaction, and its relationship with financial inclusion was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) based on a stratified sample of 221 users of 24 non-banking correspondents. The results show that customer satisfaction is associated with financial inclusion through the quality of the physical and personal environments, which predominated as the most significant factor, and that all constructs clearly explain the latent variables. Furthermore, it became clear that inclusion is driven not only by financial infrastructure but also by a behavioral process of user perception, measured by satisfaction. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an ecosystem of experiences that ensures staff quality, environment, functional quality, access, product adaptation, and consumer protection, among other aspects that holistically integrate this ecosystem. This will provide a strategic framework for designing inclusive financial policies.

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