Emerging-market consumers’ interactions with banking chatbots

[Display omitted] •Qualitative insight into how emerging-market consumers engage with banks’ chatbots.•Participants acknowledge the performance expectancy of a chatbot.•Infrastructural challenges to emerging economies inhibit the adoption of chatbots.•UI design, trust, security, responsiveness and capabilities of chatbots are crucial. Chatbot development and adoption is a growing challenge in emerging markets, which are characterised by a young population structure, low-level internet penetration and a high degree of institutional adversity. The purpose of this study is to explore how consumers in emerging markets interact and engage with banking chatbots when conducting bank transactions. Based on qualitative research using semi-structured interviews with 36 Nigerian residents, this study demonstrates that the four factors of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) can explain how emerging-market consumers interact and engage with banking chatbots. While age and technological experience are significant components in facilitating the use of chatbots, perceived expertise, responsiveness and security were found to be particularly important to users. This study delves into user experiences with conversational interfaces, specifically focusing on emerging markets.