Abstract:

Interest-Free/Islamic Banking or Participatory Banking has been increasing its share in the world financial market. Although many researches about the reasons for preference of interestfree banks abroad Turkey have been conducted so far, the number of the studies related to the reasons for preference of participatory banks in Turkey is comparatively very low. This study is intended to contribute to the literature in question. To this effect; a sample of 217 participants was selected among the customers of three participatory banks in Bolu province in Turkey. The data was collected through conducting a survey. An exploratory factor analysis was run on the data. According to our findings, the principal factor affecting the participants’ preference of participatory banks is “Product/Service Quality”. “Image and Trust”, “Personnel Quality”, “Religious/Environmental Motivations” are the succeeding ones.

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