ENHANCING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE WITH ROBOTICS PROCESS AUTOMATION (RPA) IN MALAYSIAN BANKS

Abstract

This study investigates the potential of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in enhancing customer experience within the onboarding process of Malaysian banks. Customer onboarding is a critical first interaction between banks and new customers, yet it is often affected by inefficiencies, manual bottlenecks, and regulatory complexities that reduce customer satisfaction and retention. As the Malaysian banking sector accelerates digital transformation, RPA has emerged as a promising solution to automate repetitive, rule-based tasks, improve process efficiency, and deliver faster, error-free onboarding experiences. Grounded in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this research proposes and tests a conceptual framework integrating perceived ease of use (PEU), process efficiency (PE), perceived security and privacy (PSP), accessibility of automation (AOA), and perceived experience with RPA (PEWR). A quantitative methodology was employed through a structured survey distributed to banking customers across Malaysia, with responses analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Findings indicate that PEU, PE, and AOA have significant positive effects on PEWR, which strongly influences the overall customer experience during onboarding. PSP also emerged as a key factor in building trust and confidence in RPA-enabled onboarding solutions. Demographic factors such as age and digital familiarity were found to moderate certain relationships, indicating that younger, digitally literate customers perceive greater benefits from RPA. This research contributes theoretically by extending TAM in banking automation and practically by providing insights for banking institutions, policymakers, and technology strategists. The results underscore the importance of user-centric, secure, and compliant RPAenabled onboarding solutions in Malaysia’s financial services sector.