What information technology solution can you give clients in the Financial Industry?

Major applications. The advantages accruing from computerization are three-directional - to the customer, to the bank and to the employee.

For the customer. Banks are aware of customer's need for new services and plan to make them available. IT has increased the level of competition and forced them to integrate the new technologies in order to satisfy their customers. They have already developed and implemented a certain number of solutions among them:

• Self-inquiry facility: Facility for logging into specified self-inquiry terminals at the branch to inquire and view the transactions in the account.
• Remote banking: Remote terminals at the customer site connected to the respective branch through a modem, enabling the customer to make inquiries regarding his accounts, on-line, without having to move from his office.
• Anytime banking- Anywhere banking: Installation of ATMs which offer non-stop cash withdrawal, remittances and inquiry facilities. Networking of computerized branches inter-city and intra-city, will permit customers of these branches, when interconnected, to transact from any of these branches.
• Telebanking: A24-hour service through which inquiries regarding balances and transactions in the account can be made over the phone.
• Electronic Banking: This enables the bank to provide corporate or high value customers with a Graphical User Interface (GUI) software on a PC, to inquire about their financial transactions and accounts, cash transfers, cheque book issue and inquiry on rates without visiting the bank. Moreover, LC text and details on bills can be sent by the customer, and the bank can download the same. The technology used to provide this service is called electronic data interchange (EDI). It is used to transmit business transactions in computer-readble form between organizations and individuals in a standard format.
• As information is centralized and updates are available simultaneously at all places, single-window service becomes possible, leading to effective reduction in waiting time.

  For the bank. During the last decade, banks applied IT to a wide range of back and front office tasks in addition to a great number of new products. The major advantages for the bank to implement IT are:

• Availability of a wide range of inquiry facilities, assisting the bank in business development and follow-up.
• Immediate replies to customer queries without reference to ledger-keeper as terminals are provided to Managers and Chief Managers.
• Automatic and prompt carrying out of standing instructions on due date and generation of reports.
• Generation of various MIS reports and periodical returns on due dates.
• Fast and up-to-date information transfer enabling speedier decisions, by interconnecting computerized branches and controlling offices.

  For the employees. IT has increased their productivity through the followings:

• Accurate computing of cumbersome and time-consuming jobs such as balancing and interest calculations on due dates.
• Automatic printing of covering schedules, deposit receipts, pass book / pass sheet, freeing the staff from performing these time-consuming jobs, and enabling them to give more attention to the needs of the customer.
• Signature retrieval facility, assisting in verification of transactions, sitting at their own terminal.
• Avoidance of duplication of entries due to existence of single-point data entry.