Direct banking: A report on a project conducted on behalf of ABN AMRO Bank N.V.

Abstract

A normal chore at the bank requires the customer to face many problems. He has to travel to the bank, look for parking space for his vehicle, stand in a Queue, face unfriendly and arrogant staff at the Bank and so on. Direct Banking is designed to eliminate most of these, if not all of these, problems. Direct Banking or Home Banking essentially involves the use of computers and telephones to conduct banking. The customer is provided with a direct modem connection to the bank’s computer in addition to a 24 hour telephone service. The customer can either use his computer or call the bank for any transaction that he wishes to conduct. In other words the customer can do most of his banking without setting foot outside his home or office. Deposits and withdrawals can be made through a network of ATMs which can also be used to deposit cheques, issue cheque books etc. Security of customer’s account is maintained through the use of secret passwords. Direct Banking is a relatively new concept and was first tried successfully in England by the Midland Bank. Their Direct Banking Service called First Direct had an account base of 400,000 by June 1993. Customer surveys have revealed high level of satisfaction with the convenience, efficiency and quality of service provided. As a result of the success of First Direct, many other banks world over have launched similar services. In India, ABN Amro plans to launch a similar service as a pioneer. Although Citibank provides Telebanking in India, it-is on a restricted scale. Direct Banking encompasses a much wider range of services besides giving a direct access to the customer to his account through a PC which plain Telebanking does not provide. The following pages reveal reactions to the concept of Direct Banking obtained from the people of Delhi.