One of the significant devel opments of the 20th century has been the Internet in the field of Information and Communication Technology. Internet has its effect on all the spheres of human activity, be it education, governance, business and finance or defense. In its initial days of development, Internet has been a one-way medium of propagating information via computers. But technological developments have made it possible to make Internet not only a means of propagating information but also carrying out business transactions. This has enabled financial and business transactions to be accomplished in minutes where earlier it used to take days or months.
People from all walks of life have to deal with banks to carry out their financial transactions. The introduction of Internet has brought in the concept of `Anytime Anywhere Banking'. Internet banking or online banking refers to the conduct of financial transactions by the customers with the help of a secured website operated by the bank. Thus, most of the banks nowadays have websites, which not only provide banking-related information but also facilitate online transactions, such as bank account inquiry, payment of utility bills, credit card bill payment, status inquiry and online shopping. It has become one of the prominent channels of two-way communication for any financial institution and occupies a strategic place for increasing the customer base and at the same time minimizing transaction costs. Internet banking and associated transactions are much cheaper compared to rendering services through physical branches (i.e., brick and mortar form). Figure 1 shows the cost of processing transaction through Internet in comparison with other means. |
