Return
to Story Page
To print: Select File and then Print from your
browser's menu
N Madhavan
Chennai, Feb 7: ICICI Bank is upgrading its internet banking facility `infinity' to introduce on-line real time banking in a phased manner. This will enable the customers to do the entire gamut of banking operations such as transfer of funds among their various accounts, third party transfers, payment of utility bills etc by directly operating their accounts.
ICICI Bank, which in October 1997 pioneered the introduction of Internet banking in the country, currently offers customers access to their accounts both for viewing and downloading their statements, cheque book requisition and stop payment instruction facility. They also have a secured mail box for the customers to correspond with the bank in a confidential manner.
All these facilities are off-line and allows customers to merely give instructions to the bank. According to Priya Nayak, manager, Infinity Centre, ICICI Bank, introduction of own account transfer would be the first step towards on-line internet banking. This facility, which is expectedto be launched any time now, would enable the customers to transfer funds between their own accounts be it savings bank account or current account, she said.
Unbreakable security features are a pre-requisite for on-line banking and ICICI Bank is working towards a fool-proof system. The `infinity' has a multi-layered architecture and is hosted on an in-house server. The security features include multiple fire walls, filtering routers, 128 bit encryptor and digital certification to check the authenticity of the user. In fact, the bank has employed the services of professional hackers to test their security system.
The bank is also planning to add utility bills payment, deposit and third party transfer instructions in the next three or four months. Initially they will be off-line and would be integrated with on-line system after testing.Internet banking facility of ICICI Bank has received a good response especially with NRIs for whom it is the quickest and cheapest way of tracking their accounts in India.The monthly hits have crossed 55,000 and the bank claims that its NRI deposits, as a percentage of total deposits, has increased from four per cent to 10 per cent since the launch of the service. About 2,100 customers (as of November) from countries such as Namibia, Mozambique, Kazakstan, the US, the UK apart from increasing number of software professionals in India are utilising the facility.
IndusInd Bank, the other bank which is providing internet banking facility, is also planning to go on-line next year. Its 1,600 internet customers have access to their accounts through the banks' website. IDBI Bank is also looking at Internet banking closely. According to its vice-president (finance), Ramachandran Chellam, the bank is on the look out for a suitable software which is secure and compatible with its existing system.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
------------------------------------------------------------
This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
------------------------------------------------------------