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Banking on the internet
In this fast world, internet banking has seeped deep into our corporate scenario. Fast, convenient, and to a large extent reliable, more and more people are turning to e-banking to save time, money and effort.
Some people like to link banking functions into personal financial software such as Microsoft’s Money. This can make record-keeping and tax preparation quicker and easier.
Many customers do not like to wait in line for hours at banking institutions, and paying their bills after shuffling several papers and buying stamps. Internet banking provides a convenient way to resolve these problems.
Services offered
Internet banking can be used to:
— Access account information, review bills, pay bills, transfer funds, apply for credit or trade securities;
— Find out if a cheque has been cleared or when a bill is due;
— Apply for mortgages, shop for the best loan rates and compare insurance policies and prices.
The software used
Basel II software
The Basel II software gives banks the opportunity to reduce their economic capital and regulatory capital through efficient data management and reporting. Basel II also provides a unique opportunity for banks to modernise and upgrade their risk practices, policies and technology so that they can manage their credit risk, market risk and operational risk in an efficient way.
Exact/TMSTM
Exact/TMS™ is a web-based cheque reconciliation and positive pay solution, providing financial institutions with a powerful fraud prevention tool that is focused on the management needs of corporate clients.
Exact/TMS offers a robust browser interface for commercial customers, which eliminates the need to install software on client workstations. The nightly cheque reconcilement process automatically alerts the client by email if exception items require a pay or return decision. Clients can make such decisions, view images of items in question, analyse reconcilement reports and submit electronically issued cheque files all via the web in a secure paperless environment.
ACBS Loan System
ACBS is a comprehensive commercial lending and trading system. It consists of integrated functional modules that support the lending process from deal building through to servicing and trading. The system embodies a “once-and-done” workflow and information management process that integrates front-office origination, syndication, deal structuring, documentation, credit approval, portfolio monitoring and trading with back-office servicing and accounting processes.
These features, along with the single information source used by all components, speed up the process, reduce errors and eliminate redundant effort.
Signature
The Signature image processing package is a software package for capturing, editing, compressing and display of signatures. It can be provided either in source or in a library format. It can be linked with any banking application and it is the ideal solution on banking hardware platforms that use mainframes connected to PCs through local area networks (LANs) or wide area networks WANs.
Bancado
Bancado is a complete bank software system that runs under SCO Unix on standard Intel Pentium Computers and under AIX on IBM’s RISC computers. The Bancado software includes modules for customer information, deposit accounts, certificates of deposit, installment loans, commercial loans, mortgage loans, general ledger, automated clearing house, safe deposit box billing and full-time voice response system for customer inquiries.
PowerLender
PowerLender is an all-in-one loan origination and processing system that allows lenders to process all types of loans faster and more efficiently. It is designed to originate, underwrite, process, close and fund mortgage, consumer and commercial loans.
PowerLender provides all the necessary tools to capture borrower data, perform calculations, print documents, generate management reports and manage workflow. Since the software is written in Java, lenders can choose their operating environment, including Windows and Linux. Lenders can mix and match operating systems and choose and change databases, including Oracle, MS-SQL Server and MySQL.
However, a charming glass house as it may sound, internet banking has its share of pitfalls as well that we need to be aware of. Knowing the dos and don’ts of e-banking can help make our experience more productive, safe and pleasant.
Privacy and security issues
When you do your banking via the internet, your personal and financial information may be shared with others without your knowledge. So, you need to be concerned about privacy and security. A financial institution may want to share information about you to help market products specific to your needs. For example, it might share information about your average chequeing account balance with an affiliate selling life insurance or securities.
Financial institutions have policies about what information they collect, how they use this information and with whom they share it. Financial institutions are required to provide customers with a copy of their privacy policy. Reviewing this policy can tell you what information your financial institution keeps about you, and what information, if any, it shares with its affiliates or others.
You have the right to tell your financial institution not to share your personal information with others without your consent. You should be given a choice to “opt out”, allowing you to limit sharing of your personal information.
Cookies
Internet technology allows financial institutions and other websites to track your browsing behaviour while at their site. This may be done using a small file stored on your PC called a “cookie.” Tracking your browsing gives financial institutions information about your apparent interests and preferences. This can affect your privacy.
To handle this issue, you should check the Preferences or Tools areas of your browser to look for cookies. Your browser may offer the option to notify you before a cookie is created, identifying who is attempting to place the cookie and giving you the option to accept or reject it. Your browser also may offer you the option to reject all cookies, or to accept all of them.
Blocking cookies may prevent normal access to certain websites or to some of their online options. If this happens, you can easily begin accepting cookies again.
Personal information
Since the internet is a public network, it is important to safeguard your banking information, credit card numbers, social security number and other personal information.
Some consumers have had credit card numbers and social security numbers stolen and used fraudulently. You can protect your personal data from being stolen by keeping the facts in mind.
Websites use Uniform Resource Locators (URL) as a kind of internet street address. You can tell your browser which website you want to go to with the URL. When a URL begins with http plus an “s”, it identifies the site as “secure”, meaning that it encrypts or scrambles transmitted information. This prevents others from seeing your information when it travels over the internet.
Also, most browsers and web pages display a small icon of a locked padlock or a key to show that the site is encrypting your information during transmission. Your browser may also notify you when you are entering a “secure” website.
E-mail is unsafe
E-mail is usually not a good idea to send personal information such as your Social Security number, personal identification number (PIN) or account numbers, unless you know that it is encrypted.
Internet banking has become a need in the present era and most of the banks have developed their websites to allow their customers to bank online. But to fully utilise the benefits of internet banking, we should not forget to take precautions so that our internet banking experience can be safe as well as advantageous.
The writer is a freelance contributor
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