Author: Umang Bedi
The era of internet & growing net-banking
As the internet spins a web of interconnectivity around the globe, its popularity has revolutionized the banking sector by enabling customers to conduct financial transactions via the Internet.
Banks are witnessing a sharp rise in online transactions as an increasing number of customers log on to the internet to pay their utility bills. Telephone bills, mainly mobile bills, are primarily driving the transactions, followed by insurance premiums and electricity bills.
Online payments and transfer of funds from one bank to another also contributed to a 100% year-on-year growth in online transactions. Online transactions are going up by 10-12% every month. Banks believe that customers are turning to online transactions as these are convenient and save time.
In a survey by ASSOCHAM in 2008, an average Indian household in cities pays about 50 bills annually. An individual saves about 80 hours in a year by e-billing, with the business growing 200% and its size expected to touch 6.5 million by 2008-09 from the then level of 1.9 million.
Online trading
Indians eager to invest extra income are signing up in droves at Internet trading sites, data from the nation`s largest stock exchange shows the number of investors registered for online trading has grown by at least 150 percent over 2006-07 figures, with 2.9 million in the cash segment and 5.5 million for both cash and F&O, according to records at the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
However, traditionally equities trading in India has been done through brokers, in person or over the phone, but with the convergence of mobile and Internet, shopping for shares has become as easy as making a few clicks from one`s PC.
Online portals giving important information
It`s tougher than ever to plan your finances. But it`s also easier than ever to find help on the cheap.
There are a host of Web sites that help you lay out a budget and track your spending and investments. Some let you set up a plan for a long-term goal, like college or retirement, and others offer advice about where to put your money. And many of these services are free of charge.
A number of well-executed personal finance management web startups have been in the spotlight lately. Beyond a clean interface for tracking your purchases, payments and trends in spending habits, these portals also provide easily contemporized financial accounts from banks. For the more stylish geeks among us, these portals also offer integration in widgets and mashups.
Some of the categories online portals are addressing are:
> Budgeting Your Money
> Creating a Financial Plan
> Tracking Investments and Getting Advice
> Checking for Fraud
> Keeping Track of Credit
> Managing Loans
The era of internet & growing net-banking
As the internet spins a web of interconnectivity around the globe, its popularity has revolutionized the banking sector by enabling customers to conduct financial transactions via the Internet.
Banks are witnessing a sharp rise in online transactions as an increasing number of customers log on to the internet to pay their utility bills. Telephone bills, mainly mobile bills, are primarily driving the transactions, followed by insurance premiums and electricity bills.
Online payments and transfer of funds from one bank to another also contributed to a 100% year-on-year growth in online transactions. Online transactions are going up by 10-12% every month. Banks believe that customers are turning to online transactions as these are convenient and save time.
In a survey by ASSOCHAM in 2008, an average Indian household in cities pays about 50 bills annually. An individual saves about 80 hours in a year by e-billing, with the business growing 200% and its size expected to touch 6.5 million by 2008-09 from the then level of 1.9 million.
Online trading
Indians eager to invest extra income are signing up in droves at Internet trading sites, data from the nation`s largest stock exchange shows the number of investors registered for online trading has grown by at least 150 percent over 2006-07 figures, with 2.9 million in the cash segment and 5.5 million for both cash and F&O, according to records at the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
However, traditionally equities trading in India has been done through brokers, in person or over the phone, but with the convergence of mobile and Internet, shopping for shares has become as easy as making a few clicks from one`s PC.
Online portals giving important information
It`s tougher than ever to plan your finances. But it`s also easier than ever to find help on the cheap.
There are a host of Web sites that help you lay out a budget and track your spending and investments. Some let you set up a plan for a long-term goal, like college or retirement, and others offer advice about where to put your money. And many of these services are free of charge.
A number of well-executed personal finance management web startups have been in the spotlight lately. Beyond a clean interface for tracking your purchases, payments and trends in spending habits, these portals also provide easily contemporized financial accounts from banks. For the more stylish geeks among us, these portals also offer integration in widgets and mashups.
Some of the categories online portals are addressing are:
> Budgeting Your Money
> Creating a Financial Plan
> Tracking Investments and Getting Advice
> Checking for Fraud
> Keeping Track of Credit
> Managing Loans
Misconceptions on security
Online banking allows customers or users to conduct financial transactions on a secure website operated by their banks, credit unions or building societies. Online banking has grown rapidly using today`s computer technology thereby providing the option of online payment bypassing the time-consuming, traditional banking in order to manage the finances more quickly and efficiently. Gartner survey on online banking in July 2009 asked to indicate the importance of 18 different online banking features, where consumers ranked security the No. 1 feature, followed by single sign-on as their No. 2 feature for online banking.
Banks now make it possible for customers to do most of their banking online, paying credit cards, utilities, loans, mortgages, and even transferring money between accounts. Customers can save postage, paper, time and gasoline, and that`s just good business. But with fraud and identity theft on the rise, is online banking really safe? Given a few precautions, the answer is probably yes.
There are precautions to take, however, to make online banking safe.
> The first rule is never click through to a banking site via a link in email. The email might be a phishing scam, taking unsuspecting people to a fake website that looks exactly like the real thing.
> Banks do not ask for sensitive information through email. If the email asks for any kind of response or information, call your bank to verify using a phone book.
> It`s a bad idea to do online banking from someone else`s computer. A work computer, friend`s computer or public computer might have spyware, rootkits or keylogger programs running. A keylogger records everything typed into the keyboard, often transmitting the information to a remote third party who has infected the computer without the owner`s knowledge.
> Clean your computer with a few good scanners before starting online banking. Even if you run an antivirus program that looks for viruses, Trojans and keyloggers, many of these programs don`t search for rootkits or spyware.
Online banking allows customers or users to conduct financial transactions on a secure website operated by their banks, credit unions or building societies. Online banking has grown rapidly using today`s computer technology thereby providing the option of online payment bypassing the time-consuming, traditional banking in order to manage the finances more quickly and efficiently. Gartner survey on online banking in July 2009 asked to indicate the importance of 18 different online banking features, where consumers ranked security the No. 1 feature, followed by single sign-on as their No. 2 feature for online banking.
Banks now make it possible for customers to do most of their banking online, paying credit cards, utilities, loans, mortgages, and even transferring money between accounts. Customers can save postage, paper, time and gasoline, and that`s just good business. But with fraud and identity theft on the rise, is online banking really safe? Given a few precautions, the answer is probably yes.
There are precautions to take, however, to make online banking safe.
> The first rule is never click through to a banking site via a link in email. The email might be a phishing scam, taking unsuspecting people to a fake website that looks exactly like the real thing.
> Banks do not ask for sensitive information through email. If the email asks for any kind of response or information, call your bank to verify using a phone book.
> It`s a bad idea to do online banking from someone else`s computer. A work computer, friend`s computer or public computer might have spyware, rootkits or keylogger programs running. A keylogger records everything typed into the keyboard, often transmitting the information to a remote third party who has infected the computer without the owner`s knowledge.
> Clean your computer with a few good scanners before starting online banking. Even if you run an antivirus program that looks for viruses, Trojans and keyloggers, many of these programs don`t search for rootkits or spyware.
The possibilities of tomorrow…
By year`s end, there will be 10 million mobile banking users. By 2013, that number will spike to 53 million users, a compound annual rate of 53 percent, according to research firm TowerGroup. Customers will make the crucial decision: stay with their current bank or move to a competitor.
Because financial institutions can capture the initial sweep of changing habits now before they crest and establish a mobile revenue channel that will exceed the initial investment, they can set the trend. And encouraging consumer use early is critical to adoption and success.
Businesses need to take the long view. The essential choice is whether to save money now or invest for the future.
Consumers are out there and they`re ready to transact. They often represent a financial institution`s or a merchant`s top customers, including multiple segments with household income in excess of Rs. 2,00,000 These include newer, younger customers - digital trendsetters, many of whom don`t read a newspaper but will never leave home without their mobile handset to search for content.
By year`s end, there will be 10 million mobile banking users. By 2013, that number will spike to 53 million users, a compound annual rate of 53 percent, according to research firm TowerGroup. Customers will make the crucial decision: stay with their current bank or move to a competitor.
Because financial institutions can capture the initial sweep of changing habits now before they crest and establish a mobile revenue channel that will exceed the initial investment, they can set the trend. And encouraging consumer use early is critical to adoption and success.
Businesses need to take the long view. The essential choice is whether to save money now or invest for the future.
Consumers are out there and they`re ready to transact. They often represent a financial institution`s or a merchant`s top customers, including multiple segments with household income in excess of Rs. 2,00,000 These include newer, younger customers - digital trendsetters, many of whom don`t read a newspaper but will never leave home without their mobile handset to search for content.
Because of the economy, changes in technology and the unstoppable momentum of consumer expectation - now is the time to implement mobile banking. Wait too long and the optimum return will have passed and many consumers may leave one institution in favor of a competitor.
No comments:
Post a Comment