Online Banking Has Now Become an Alternative

8/2/2019 Online Banking Has Now Become an Alternative

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Online banking has now become an alternative, if not a better one, to going to the bank

physically to transact business.

A Business World Online poll shows that more than 70% of the respondents are using internet

banking. The number of users who use the internet for banking outnumbered users who opt for

other e-banking channels such as telephone andmobile phone.

The online poll defined e-banking as the

different channels which enable users to transact

with the bank. By this definition, automatedteller machines (ATMs) were included in the

online survey.

Through its online newspaper, theBusiness

World Internet Edition (BWIE),Business

World Online conducted an interactive pollfrom June 4 to July 4 on the e-banking preferences of customers of banks in the country.

The online poll supports anotherBWIE surveyof banking practices in the Philippines.

The banking survey, on the other hand, assesses the most common practices of Philippine banks,

with a special focus on e-banking.

While the banking survey attempts to be a scientific study, the online poll is an informal study

involving readers of Business World Online web sites. The poll is an attempt to get banking

customers preferences for e-banking.

CHANNELS

The online poll asked Business World readers to choose the "most convenient" means for themto transact with their bank, or to "e-bank". They were made to choose either the internet,

telephone, mobile phone, over-the-counter or the ATM.

A total of 194 out of 428 respondents or 45.327% said they prefer to transact through the

internet.

In contrast, 22.43% of respondents said they still prefer the ATM to transact while another

15.421% said they prefer phone banking. The next most convenient means for the respondents totransact is through mobile phones.

Not surprisingly, 5.841% of the respondents said they still prefer to transact with their bank

physically, or over the counter.

QUESTION: Do you e-bank?
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QUESTION: Which is the most convenient way for you to e-bank?

Carter G. Yu, 23, general manager of a video production firm and a regular e-banking user, said

he hardly ever goes to the bank, except when he has to deposit money. Other than this, he uses

the other e-banking channels to transfer funds between accounts and pay his bills.

The same is true for Jenny (not her real name) who works for a top international bank. To

withdraw money, Jenny said she uses the ATM. However, internet banking is the most

convenient way for her to pay her bills and transfer funds, without having to queue and make theeffort to travel to her bank branch. She said the only time she goes to the bank is when she has to

deposit funds.

Business World On lines poll results support government data which indicate that internet

banking is the most preferred type of e-banking services offered by Philippine-based banks.

Datafrom the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) show that as of March 2003, the most common

type of e-banking service offered by Philippine banks is internet banking.

The report indicated that 21 out of the 30 banks which have been approved by BSP to offer e-

banking services offer these through the internet. Meanwhile, 17 offer electronic bankingservices through fixed line telephones, and 16 through mobile phones.

BSP also authorized seven banks to participate in the electronic tax filing and payment system(EFPS) of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). EFPS makes available online the filing of

quarterly income tax return for corporations and partnerships as well as payment of tax due for

every fiscal year.

Online banking users interviewed by Business World Online find online banking convenientinstead of queuing in a bank branch.

Most Business World Online respondents who already e-bank say that they use the facility to pay

for their bills. Respondents were asked how they use e-banking and given choices betweentransferring funds, balance inquiries, pre-paid card reloading, bills payment, loan application and

investments.
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Caryl A. Aglian, 20, a college graduate is already banking electronically through the internet.

She said she uses internet banking to pay her bills and online purchases.

The online poll indicates that 53 out of 168 respondents or 31.548% said use e-banking to pay

for their bills. This feature of e-banking allows users to pay for their bills instantly without

having to go the bank or write checks.

QUESTION: How do you e-bank?

Graphics by Crecencio I. Cruz

Another 14.880% or 25 of the total respondents said that they use e-banking to transfer funds.

Fund transfer is similar to the bills payment procedure where bankers can move funds from oneaccount to another without having to physically write an instruction to do so.

Meanwhile, many e-banking users also use the channels to inquire about their accounts. A totalof 46 or 27.380% said they use e-banking channels to check their account balances.

Less than 10% of the respondents said that they use e-banking channels to reload their pre-paidcellular phone subscription. Currently, only a few banks offer this kind of service to their

banking clients.

WHY E-BANK?

Many e-banking users prefer to use the electronic means because of convenience and mobility.

Through e-banking, bank accounts can be accessed by users more often, at their own

convenience. More so, banking transactions can be made from home, office or even abroad.

A study by AC Nielsen Consult confirmed growth in the number of online bankers. An estimated

34% or 330,000 of all regular internet users in the country, or those who log online at least oncea week, are alsoonline bankers.

Elena P. Van Tooren, MIS director of AC Nielsen said in an earlier email interview that regular

internet users are ready, in terms of access availability and frequency of use, in conductingactivities online.

Despite this, a large percentage of the online poll respondents still do not have e-banking access.
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The BusinessWorld online poll results show that 46.428% of the respondents confirmed that

their most valid reason for not banking electronically was that they do not have access to e-banking.

E-BANKING SECURITY

Still, many people have qualms about banking electronically because of security. In some cases,other e-banking channels are preferred over the others because of perceived levels of security.

Poll results also show that 31.493% or 97 out of 308 respondents said that they do not trust e-banking.

Lesley T. Chuayap, 23, an office clerk said that she will only use e-banking services when the

need arises and if it is convenient for her. She added that most importantly, security assurance

will make her decide to finally start to e-bank.

Similarly, bank customers interviewed by BusinessWorld Online said that they prefer to useother channels than the internet because of fear of failure in the security measures that online

banks take. Standards have been placed in many online banks such as 128-bit SLL encryption,multiple firewalls and user IDs with passwords to ensure safety of transactions.

Kryzchelle A. Aglian, 24, a businesswoman feels that banking through the telephone is moresecure than using the internet. She points out that data can only be retrieved by the account

holder in the phone banking channel while the internet is subject to hacking.

Mr. Yu has similar apprehensions about the internet and prefers to use phone banking. He said

the phone has lesser chances of getting hacked compared to the internet, while mobile phones

sometimes fail because of network problems.

QUESTION: What is the most valid reason why you have not tried e-banking?

Graphics by Cresencio I. Cruz

OTHER REASONS


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The online poll shows that 13.311% of respondents said that they do not have enough funds to

start e-banking.

Niven Dioquino, 25, video editor, said that he feels that his funds are not enough to start e-

banking. When the need arises however, he said that he is willing to try all three channels for e-

banking.

The AC Nielsen online banking summary indicates that 15% the regular internet users who are

not yet banking online can not wait to try it out while 56% are willing to try it in the future.

Only a small percentage of the respondents or 6.169% said that e-banking is not available at their

banks.

The BusinessWorld Online poll shows bank customers use online banking becuase they value

convenience and mobility.

However, security and assurance are still issues that banks need to address.

Some e-banking customers interviewed said they do not feel that they are well informed aboutthe services that their banks are offering.

Some bank executives interviewed by BusinessWorld Online said they are aware of these issues

raised by their customers. Some banks, for instance, have made it a policy to inform their

customers of security measures they have undertaken.

Currently, online banks are using industry standards such as 128-bit SSL encryption technology

and firewalls to prevent any unauthorized access to bank accounts online. Still, these safety

measures are not fail-proof and will need to be looked into as computer technology and evenhacking techniques become better in the future.

Some banks even employ teams of computer specialists to try to hack into their systems to make

sure that security measures that they have taken do not fail.

Christina B. Goco, Vice President for product management-wholesale bank of the Standard

Chartered Bank said the said bank runs intrusion tests for their online banking web site.

Even with the security measures taken by online banks, some bank customers can not help but be

paranoid with the idea of transacting through the internet. With this, taking steps to secure online

transactions is not enough, banks will need to take information disemmination further to keepcustomers confident with online banking.

Online Banking Has Now Become an Alternative

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