Information Technologies in Banking

 

E-banking and E-trading are attracting a growing interest of the business world. Electronic trading and commerce of goods and services through the Internet are pioneering the global virtual world where the only link with reality will be in the delivery of goods and electronic payments. E-banking is the basis this wondrous new world will rely upon. Banking systems that fail to adhere to such trends will face dinosaurian extinction. To think that all this will be imposed from outside is a big mistake. The change must come from within the existing system so that it might survive.

1. Shaping of a local intranet network.

2. Investing in a computer system.

3. Connecting it to the existing computer system.

4. Replacing terminals with intelligent multimedia workstations.

5. Creating WAN connections with the branch offices based on the new communication hardware and intranet technologies.

6. Linking the system to the Internet and setting up E-banking servers based on WEB technology.

7. Implementing Front office and Back office applications.

8. Creating the preconditions for the implementation of EMV standards in credit card transactions.

 

Activities

Bearing in mind the peculiarities of our current technological level, but also the readiness of our market to accept highly sophisticated solutions, we have to find a balance between the means involved and the results to be achieved. In any case the following steps are inevitable:

Benefits

• Gradual substitution and update of the existing bank information system without any radical organizational or investment efforts.
• Replacement of terminals with powerful and available computer components.
• Increasing operation speed over existing communication lines.
• Creating the preconditions for E-banking.
• Internet in the Bank:

• Business correspondence with the entire world (all bank associates and clients have their own personal mailbox to send and receive mail, all the employees can send mail and receive newsletters)
• Internet communications with business partners in a modern and inexpensive way.
• Improving the bank reputation and confirming the future-oriented views of its management.
• Presentation of bank services on the Internet.
• Introducing the bank to the local community as the promoter of technological progress and economic prosperity of the region.
• Preservation and concentration of young promising staff and its quick training through the Internet.
• A practical way of rallying bank clients for novelties and latest technologies

• Commercial Benefits:

• Internet access for the staff and selected clients enhances the technical level and reduces Internet costs.
• Savings due to the marketing presentation on the Internet.
• Opening the presentation to the clients and spreading the community importance of the bank in the regional economy.
• Collecting E-mail through the bank as a new means of communication.

• Banking services through the Internet:

• Presentation of bank products and services.
• User information center and Help Desk.
• Review of the balance of an account, download of information on transactions made through the account as a primary service.
• Electronic payments as an introduction to virtual banking.

International practice

• Modernization is focused on keeping the existing clients (new customers require 5 times greater investments than keeping old clients).
• Modernization is supported by the most moneyed clients (20% of the most moneyed provide 80% of all profitable banking activities).
• 1% of VISA transactions through the Internet represents 50% of the value of all transactions.
• Failing to introduce E-banking services leads to a certain loss of clients to the competition