13-04-2012, 12:39 PM
e-banking
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NEED FOR THIS STUDY
Since the 80s, there has been turbulence in the banking and finance industry worldwide as the pace of changes continues to accelerate. Changes are being driven, above all by competition, technology and customer demand. The Internet – both an opportunity and threat for banks - will intensify these effects.
The globalisation process and the opening up of the Indian economy; have given reason for the banking sector to rethink its existing strategies. The penetration of computers and growth in Internet usage is making the customers crave for more – more services, more convenience! People want to put their PC to as many uses as possible. E-Banking is one such use; and a very important one at that.
These reasons and more have given rise to the need for such a project. Although many researches and projects have been conducted on this topic before, this project is not redundant because e-banking is a very dynamic subject in today’s scenario and hence it needs to be constantly updated and studied.
Due to the vastness of this subject, it is impossible to include every single detail, hence wherever necessary, annexure have been attached.
PRE E-BANKING SCENARIO IN INDIA
Traditional Banking
Traditionally the relationship between the bank and its customers has been on a one-to-one level via the branch network. This was put into operation with clearing and decision-making responsibilities concentrated at the individual branch level. The head office had responsibility for the overall clearing network, the size of the branch network and the training of staff in the branch network. The bank monitored the organization’s performance and set the decision-making parameters, but the information available to both branch staff and their customers was limited to one geographical location.
Traditional Banking Structure (Diag.1)
On IT Adoption
The Indian banking sector woke up to the world of technology in early 1990s. The banking sector in India has been dominated by the public sector banks, who hold between them more than 80% of the total asset base. New private sector banks and foreign banks have tended to concentrate their efforts more on the top 23 centres, which house the cream of the country's urban customers. These banks have taken the lead in technology adoption and have succeeded in building up a substantial base of technology savvy, high-end customers.
Making an observation about the adoption of technology by the banks, P.C. Narayan, vice-president (IT and retail banking) of Global Trust Bank Ltd, says, "The rate of adoption of IT by foreign and private sector banks in the country has been significant over the last five years. This can be attributed largely to intense competition as well as the Internet phenomenon worldwide. A number of banks in the public sector have also accelerated the pace of IT deployment, largely because of the competitive pressure brought upon them by private sector banks and foreign banks."
Though in the beginning the employees resisted computerisation (especially in nationalised banks), the management finally succeeded in convincing its employees about the benefits and need for adoption of technology. Says P. Seshadri Rao, a financial consultant based in Hyderabad, "The basic reason for getting the nod for computerisation was the competition from private banks. Once the gates were opened to the private sector to operate banks, they started with a bang, thereby forcing nationalised banks to reconsider their way of doing business."
A SBI official in Delhi echoes the same sentiments: "Needless to say, competition from foreign banks was one of the motivating factors for us to switch to computers. But housekeeping scored over everything else. Maintaining books and regular tasks like computing interest at the end of the calendar year was tedious. The quantum of database was so huge that computerisation was the only way out. Banks would have certainly started downing their shutters had banking software not taken over the reins."
In sharp contrast, most of private banks like GTB, HDFC and ICICI started their operations with the use of technology. And with these new banks wooing the customers by offering what was till then an unknown phenomenon-customer service-the nationalised banks were forced to take remedial steps. "The compulsion for private banks to adopt a very high level of IT was driven by their desire to contain their operating cost at the lowest levels and at the same time be able to offer a wide variety of products and services in the quickest possible time," observes Narayan.
Commenting on the reasons for public sector banks being laggards in the adoption of technology, State Bank of Mysore managing director Sitarama Murty says: "The private banks started with a clean slate. They hired technology savvy people. On the other hand, public sector banks didn't have those advantages. We need to follow the public sector bank's rules and regulation while hiring people. We can't appoint computer professional in the top management directly."
Computerisation of all branches, especially in semi-urban and rural areas, is still a far cry for public sector banks. "This calls for huge investments and retraining of staff. I think these factors are inhibiting most of the banks to take technology to rural areas. But since IT is becoming an integral and inevitable part of the banking system, rural banks' computerisation should also happen very soon," comments a senior official with Andhra Bank. Explains P.K. Seshadrinathan, CTO of SSI Technologies: "The key obstacles to introduction of IT are non-integration or non-networking of branches, and a lack of corporate network. Computerisation has been introduced but each branch acts as an island. And, of course, cultural/social issues continue to pose problems. Overcoming these obstacles, therefore, would be the biggest challenge by itself."
However, the nationalised banks have taken to computerisation in the right earnest. Today most of them have their own in-house IT department which not only takes care of deployment and implementation issues but is also into developing specific and customised applications for the bank. From SBI to Canara Bank, everyone is expanding its IT division and making huge investments to develop the division as a profit centre by itself. According to an SBI official, "It makes more sense to have our own division which understands our needs and comes out with a solution. It is not just cost-effective but also useful for a bank to have a separate division that takes care of IT in totality."
Faced with deregulation, privatisation and globalisation, the Indian banks are slowly looking at various options to stay ahead in the rat race. This has resulted in the following recent trends:
Phone Banking
This means carrying out of banking transaction through the telephone. A customer can call up the banks help line or phone banking number to conduct transactions like transfer of funds, making payments, checking of account balance, ordering cheques, etc,. This also eliminates the customer of the need to visit the bank’s branch.
ATM (Automatic Teller Machine)
An ATM is basically a machine that can deliver cash to the customers on demand after authentication. An ATM does the basic function of a bank’s branch, i.e., delivering money on demand. Hence setting of newer branches is not required thereby significantly lowering infrastructure costs. These machines also hold the keys to future operational efficiency.