Article: Building trust and confidence in the use of banking apps: a study on Southeast Asia and Europe Journal: International Journal of Economics and Business Research (IJEBR) 2026 Vol.30 No.6 pp.27 - 67 Abstract: This study investigates user trust and confidence in banking applications through a comparative analysis of HSBC Bank apps in Southeast Asia and Europe. Using latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modelling on 59,910 Google Play reviews, the analysis reveals significant regional differences. Southeast Asian users express substantially higher satisfaction (76.76% 5-star ratings) than European users (48.54% 5-star ratings). Negative reviews in Southeast Asia emphasise functional concerns (card services, transfers, persistent problems), while European negative reviews focus on update-related disruptions and account access issues. These patterns reflect differing digital banking maturity levels: Southeast Asian users engage primarily in confidence formation through reliable basic functionality, whereas European users focus on trust maintenance amid systemic changes. The study contributes to trust theory and offers actionable insights for banks operating across diverse regional contexts. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Building trust and confidence in the use of banking apps: a study on Southeast Asia and Europe

Authors: Jewel Kumar Roy; Anetta Čaplánová; Andrej Přívara

Addresses: Doctoral School of Regional and Business Administration Sciences, Széchenyi István University, 9026 Győr, Egyetem tér 1, Hungary ' Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Finance, Bratislava University of Economics and Business, Slovak Republic ' Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Finance, Bratislava University of Economics and Business, Slovak Republic

Abstract: This study investigates user trust and confidence in banking applications through a comparative analysis of HSBC Bank apps in Southeast Asia and Europe. Using latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modelling on 59,910 Google Play reviews, the analysis reveals significant regional differences. Southeast Asian users express substantially higher satisfaction (76.76% 5-star ratings) than European users (48.54% 5-star ratings). Negative reviews in Southeast Asia emphasise functional concerns (card services, transfers, persistent problems), while European negative reviews focus on update-related disruptions and account access issues. These patterns reflect differing digital banking maturity levels: Southeast Asian users engage primarily in confidence formation through reliable basic functionality, whereas European users focus on trust maintenance amid systemic changes. The study contributes to trust theory and offers actionable insights for banks operating across diverse regional contexts.

Keywords: banking apps; trust; confidence; machine learning; text analytics; latent Dirichlet allocation; LDA; Southeast Asia; Europe.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEBR.2026.154083

International Journal of Economics and Business Research, 2026 Vol.30 No.6, pp.27 - 67

Received: 29 Jan 2026
Accepted: 25 Mar 2026
Published online: 11 Jun 2026 *

Title: Building trust and confidence in the use of banking apps: a study on Southeast Asia and Europe

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