BoB to invest Rs 250 crore on tech, plans Net banking

BoB to invest Rs 250 crore on tech, plans Net banking
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, MARCH 15: Bank of Baroda (BoB) has decided to invest Rs 250 crore under the "E-millennium" project with focus on E-commerce and Internet banking.

"We have decided to focus on E-banking through improved technology and use of Internet to offer better services to our customers and for it the bank plans to invest Rs 250 crore in the next 18 months," BoB executive director P S Shenoy told reporters.

For advising the bank on development of the technology, a management consultant would shortly be appointed. Without the new technology BoB will not be able to survive in the new millennium, Shenoy said.

For Internet banking BoB is planning to have a subsidiary or a joint venture partner for technology support, he said. " Net banking would be able to provide the payment gateway for our customers' accounts and would help in improving the bank's services."

However, he said, it is too early to give the details on Internet banking as it would be the second stage of the E-millennium project. "Objective of the E-millennium project is to have connectivity of the bank branches across the country and its overseas branches," he added.

BoB has overseas branches in Europe, United States, Africa, Middle-East and South East Asia.

"With the new project, the bank will be able to focus and offer better service to its non-resident customers who have deposit base of over Rs 10,000 crore," Shenoy said.

As part of the E-millennium project, BoB is working on a pilot project in Ahmedabad where it has networked 11 branches in the city. In the first stage of the E-millennium project, Shenoy said, 75 per cent of the bank's business will be on-line with connectivity of over 550 branches by the end of December this year.

In order to go ahead full-fledged on the E-millennium project, the management of BoB has already signed an agreement with its employees under which there would not be any interference from them.

The bank is also aggressively working on improving the skill of its 46,000 manpower in the new technology atmosphere. For this, it has decided to provide training to its staff at 12 international institutes and also in the reputed Indian institutes like National Institute of Banking Management, Indian Institute of Management and Administrative Staff College.