All about Internet Banking

[Golam Kibria]

What is Internet Banking?

Internet banking is used widely by masses, and has numerous benefits to offer. Nowadays, all banks provide online banking facility to their customers as an added advantage. Gone are the days, when one had to transact with a bank which was only in his local limits. Online banking has opened the doors for all customers, to operate beyond boundaries. Nowadays, people are so busy in their work lives, that they don't even have time to go to the bank for conducting their banking transactions. Internet banking enable people to carry out most of their banking transactions using a safe website, which is operated by their respective banks. It provides many features and functions to their customers, and enables them to view their account balance, transfer money from their account to another account (be it in their respective bank or any other bank), view their account summary, etc.

In this procedure, many financial transactions can be carried out by simply utilizing a computer with an Internet connection. The necessary things that a person needs for using online banking are, an active bank account with balance in it for transactions, debit or a credit card number, customer's user ID, bank account number, the Internet banking PIN number, and a PC with access to the web. People using Internet banking are certainly benefited by the online services their respective banks are providing them with. The primary reason why it is so famous and mostly used is that, customers are allowed to bank at non-working hours.

Banks create their banking interfaces and websites in a viewable and user-friendly manner, which enable customers to conduct their financial transactions with ease. If they are stuck in any process while performing their online transactions, banks have another helpful facility that is 'phone banking', wherein customers can call the bank's toll-free number and get assistance in completing their transactions. Electronic bill payment, viewing and downloading financial records, and money transfers are some of the general transactions which the customers generally carry out. All online banking services, provided by some banks, are free of cost.

When a customer views the bank's website, there are many options available, but to execute those transactions, he would obligatorily need to log into his virtual account. Without logging in, he won't be allowed to carry out any kind of the transactions. Initially, when he opens an account with the bank, the bank gives a welcome kit which contains important documents that include the checkbook; a document on which the customer's user ID, online banking password, phone banking password, and account number is embedded. The kit also contains some other confidential data, the credit or debit card, and the card details. The website will prompt the user to enter the necessary details like the Internet banking password and account number, and then will display his account information. In this stage, he can carry out all functions that are available on the website.

With regards to the password authentication and encryption, high security is maintained, as there is a chance of hackers getting unauthorized access to the customer's account and performing malpractices. However, banks keep their online security systems up-to-date to prevent such scenarios. Moreover, banks also suggest their customers to keep on changing passwords periodically. They also implement some security measures like using unique login IDs, transaction codes, using two passwords, security tokens which generate automatically changing passwords, etc.

The Internet banking facilities provided by banks differ from bank to bank, and country to country. To know all online banking services and processes, one has to thoroughly refer to the guides which were made available in the welcome kit. Moreover, proper care has to be taken regarding the confidential documents as, Internet banking frauds are on an increase.

[Golam Kibria]

Brief History of Internet Banking

The concept of Internet banking has been simultaneously evolving with the development of the world wide web. Programmers working on banking data bases came up with ideas for online banking transactions, some time during the 1980s. The creative process of development of these services were probably sparked off after many companies started the concept of online shopping. The online shopping promoted the use of credit cards through Internet. Many banking organizations had already started creating data ware housing facilities to ease their working staffs. The development of these databases were widely used during the development of ATM's.

Sometime in 1980s, banking and finance organizations in Europe and United States started suggestive researches and programming experiments on the concept of 'home banking'. Initially in the 80's when computers and Internet were not so well-developed, 'home banking' basically made use of fax machines and telephones to facilitate their customers. The widespread of Internet and programming facilities created further opportunities for development of home banking.

In 1983, the Nottingham Building Society, commonly abbreviated and referred to as the NBS, launched the first Internet banking service in United Kingdom. This service formed the basis for most of the Internet banking facilities that followed. This facility was not very well-developed and restricted the number of transactions and functions that account holders could execute. The facility introduced by Nottingham Building Society is said to have been derived from a system known as Prestel, that is deployed by the postal service department of United Kingdom.

The first online banking service in United States was introduced, in October 1994. The service was developed by Stanford Federal Credit Union, which is a financial institution. The online banking services are becoming more and more prevalent due to the well-developed systems. Though there are pros and cons of electronic cash, it has become a revolution that is enhancing the banking sector.

[Golam Kibria]

Benefits of Online Banking

Its greatest advantage perhaps lies in the fact that customers are no longer required to wait in those long and wearisome lines of the banks to request a financial transaction or statement. It has made the opening of an account quite simple and easy and without much paperwork. The same flexibility can be observed even while closing an account. You can also apply for bank loans without personally visiting any local branch of your bank.

Conventional banking has always been slow and time-consuming, so much so that sometimes you need to wait several hours to process a simple transaction like clearing a check. But, Internet banking has tremendously reduced the time required to process banking transactions, thereby making banking faster and convenient. For the bankers this system is cost-effective, as it has considerably reduced the administrative costs and paperwork related to the transactions. Besides, banks can also cater to the needs of thousands of customers at the same time. All these factors have significantly increased the profit margins of commercial banks by lowering their operating costs. This has enabled them to offer acceptable interest rates on savings account and credit cards.

With the help of Internet banking, you can access any information regarding your account and transactions, any time of the day. This means that you no longer have to depend on the office hours of your bank to obtain information. Therefore, you can regularly monitor your account as well as keep track of financial transactions, which can be of immense help in detecting any fraudulent transaction. In addition to this, fund transfers, both national and international, have also become faster and convenient with Internet banking. Nowadays, you can transfer funds from one account to another within a few minutes. You can easily carry out stock trading, exchanging bonds and other investments with the help of this facility. All these features have made Internet banking ideal for people who make a number of financial transactions each day.

In addition to availing banking facilities for 24 hours a day, you can also receive other important information regarding banking policies, rates of interest offered on different types of bank accounts and formalities required in executing various transactions. With such information you can compare the services of different banks and opt for the one that satisfies your individual needs and requirements.

Security of your bank account is the most important factor in online banking. So while availing the facilities of Internet banking, you have to be very careful to ensure the security of your computer and personal information like the password, user name and pin number of your bank account. Otherwise, you may become a victim of computer hacking, which can lead to unauthorized use of your account by computer hackers. Though banks have come up with several security measures, the customers are also required to be a bit careful to ensure security and safety of Internet banking.

[Golam Kibria]

Downsides of E-banking

The reason that not many people have started using e-banking is because they do not trust the services of the bank through the net. Some human beings prefer to trust others like them and may have some difficulty in trusting a machine, especially in the matters of money. They may always have a doubt about whether their money is safe, while being processed through e-banking.

In addition to this, a few cases of forgery have been reported in online banking. There are some fraud or proxy websites, which can hack information (user name and password) entered by a person for some transaction, and later misuse it. In such cases, people lose their money without knowing and by the time, they get the bill, huge loses may have been incurred.

Another disadvantage of e-banking is that it may take some time, to get the Internet account started, as it requires a lot of paperwork. Some people avoid using e-banking services because they find it difficult to understand how it works. Also, the fact that a wrong click can cause monetary losses may be a deterrent. E-banking can also pose a problem, if the network is down in one's area. This may cause difficulty, if the person has to do an important transaction.

One very common disadvantage of online banking is when a person has some problem or query. In a normal bank, if one faces some problem, one can go to some employee of the bank to solve it. However, in the case of e-banking, one will find oneself making endless calls to the customer service department. There have been cases, where the person is put on hold or has been passed around from one person to another.

Although, e-banking has certain downsides, one can avail of its customer-friendly services, if one is a little careful. One should never give away one's password to any unknown person and to make the experience of e-banking a smooth process, one must use sites that are familiar and reliable.

[goodboy]

A well known policy for the banking organizations that allows them to monitor banking processes with a global atmosphere.

[nature]

Day by day the world are developing and the life style are very much comfortable. All of us possible for the new new technology. Internet Banking is one of the new technology.
Good sharing Golam Kibria.

[tree]

Word is very first and i think our country known this very well so that result is mobile banking Bangladesh warming to m-banking

Mobile banking services in Bangladesh are gaining popularity by the day, having impressively clocked in over six lakh subscribers in only a year.

Mobile banking, or m-banking for short, enables banking services like balance checks, domestic and international fund transfers, credit applications, bill payments and so on through mobile devices.

Dutch Bangla Bangladesh Ltd (DBBL), with support from Citycell and Banglalink, first introduced m-banking in Bangladesh on March 31, 2011.

A maximum of Tk 10,000 can be sent at a time and Tk 25,000 a month via mobile banking.

Das Gupta Asim Kumar, an executive director of Bangladesh Bank, feels m-banking has great potential in bringing in unbanked and rural populations under the banking umbrella.

There are more than nine crore mobile subscribers in the country, while only 15 to 20 percent of the population use banking services.

�So if the unbanked people, who happen to be mobile users, are drawn in through the m-banking channel, it would be beneficial for all,.

He said that 22 banks have been given the approval to run mobile banking, of which 14 have already introduced the service to their customers.

BRAC Bank and DBBL have done very well, while Bank Asia is catching up fast, said Asim Kumar.

�We are encouraging banks to sign agreements with corporate offices and garment factories to provide workers' salaries through mobile phones.�

Md Badshah Alam, a professional car driver in Dhaka, said he often sends money, especially to his village, by mobile.

�When I send money it takes no time at all. The money goes with the SMS and the charge is less than courier services,� said Alam about the efficiency of m-banking.

He further said a friend of his even uses m-banking to pay restaurant bills.

Kamal S Quadir, chief executive officer of bKash, an m-banking service of BRAC Bank and Money in Motion, USA, said they have more than 10,000 agents countrywide to serve the 425,000 registered subscribers. However, 20 percent of the subscribers actively use the service.

�bKash is handling 30,000 customers a day on an average,� he said.

The bank charges Tk 2 per transaction when the receiver encashes the money, while the average per transaction is Tk 1,120, said the bKash CEO.

bKash has signed corporate agreements with seven organisations, including Robi, to provide salary to the their local officials, Quadir said.

The country's many mega shops, too, have introduced the service.

�All kinds of utility bills can be paid through the service. But people are still apprehensive of using their devices for anything beyond the core mobile services,� Asim Kumar said.

�Educating people about the security and efficiency of m-banking is the biggest challenge.�

[saratasneem]

Internet banking is almost zero time consuming and transparent.It is helpful to reduce corruption.

[sajib]

Over the last few years online banks have started to become more and more popular. There are plenty of reasons for this but there are still quite a few people who are not sure if an online account is a good idea for them. Below are the three biggest reasons that you should consider opening an online bank account.

1. The biggest benefit of online banking is that the fees that are charged will be lower than for a regular bank. These days virtually all banks will have fees on your account and these can really add up, especially if you make a lot of transactions. Online banks because they have a lower overhead than the regular banks can charge lower fees. Given that you will have to pay these fees every month for the entire time that you have your account it is a good idea to try to find the lowest fees that you can which is almost always online.

2. The second benefit of online banking is the convenience that it offers. Since you can do your banking any time that you want you don't have to worry about the banks hours. In addition since all of your transactions are done online you don't have to worry about the banks location since there is no need to travel to it. In addition online banks will allow you to pay your bills online and you can even set it up so that they get paid automatically making the whole process of paying your bills much easier than it would be if you had to mail a check to pay each of your bills. Not to mention the money that you save on stamps.

3. Another benefit of online banking is that you get much better record keeping so that it will be easier for you to manage your finances. When you have a traditional bank account they will mail you a statement every month, which means that you have to wait for it to arrive to determine where you stand financially. In addition by the time you get the statement the information it contains will be out of date. This obviously makes it a challenge to keep your finances straight. With an online bank account all of the information that you need is there for you to access anytime that you need it. This will help you to manage your finances so that you have a better idea of where you stand.