Factors Which Deter People from Using Online Banking - Essay Example

Online banking is an option provided by most banks nowadays, for s to use the internet to access their accounts. It uses a web based interface with connects them directly to all the transactional options available. It is fairly easy to operate and eliminates the need to continue with traditional banking to a certain extent. The popularity of this form of bank access increased proportionally with rise in internet usage in recent years. Online customer service makes one on one interaction easy, saving even more time. However this convenience does come with its share of risks. Any form of internet based service comes with security issues. Anything online is accessible to every part of the world with an internet connection. Frauds do happen and can be hard to track immediately. This is one of the main factors which deter some people from using online banking. Users who are new to managing online accounts or are not familiar with the risks involved can be tricked pretty easily. Hackers are always on the prowl for that careless internet user to steal information from. The advances in technology over the years have developed several forms of security features. However an equivalent number of hacking techniques have shown up as well. Emails are the easiest way to access users and ask them for their account information, while posing as banking personnel. This is termed as phishing and works pretty easily on those who are not aware of it. History has shown hackers to break into different kinds of confidential accounts. The security of online banking websites does fall short in this regard. However it is decent enough to provide a certain standard of protection if the user takes some personal measures as well. Every online account is password protected. Users should be encouraged to choose passwords which are complex enough. Using combinations of characters should be enforced while passwords with obvious words should be rejected completely. Using more the one password for each transaction, application of digital signatures for authentication and a combination of both are some techniques that are being used nowadays. A basic research on the bank’s web based security features will reveal how safe your money is. If their website does not have an SSL security built into every page, or allows an easy access to your personal information without multiple stages of authentication or has an option for easy password access, it is better to use traditional banking methods. The legitimacy of all operations co-ordinated by the banking websites and the federal insurance of all deposits made should be double checked before continuing any further. The bank’s FDIC insurance status can be verified by searching for it on their website. The chance of having an online banking account hacked into, is pretty low if the user is aware of all bank related emails or notifications he or she receives. It is better to visit the bank personally in case any issue actually requires the need to disclose personal details. The bank usually has records of all your details and do not require employees to ask for them from the customers. Passwords are critical pieces of data which should be handled carefully. It is best to develop a way to memorize them rather than storing them online. Password recovery methods are usually available, which send an email with the forgotten password. However such emails should not be saved for safety reasons. It is recommended to login using them, change it to something easier to remember and then delete the email. Public computers and wireless networks are fairly easy to track. It is better to avoid access to an online account using any of those. Every session of banking transaction using the web browser should be broken, before closing it. Hackers sitting on the next computer may intrude into your session if not signed out properly. A lot of investigation has already been conducted in the field of e-commerce. A possible area of further research can be looking into the ways in which the advances of ecommerce can be applied in the Small Medium Enterprises (SMES). This is interesting due to the fact that while features of B2B (Business to business) E-Commerce has been thoroughly studied, B2C( Business to consumer) E-Commerce has not been analyzed to that extent for SMEs. This would help organizers, managers and other employees to adopt a better approach to implementing E-Commerce. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a major role in deciding the economy of the country. For instance in New Zealand, SMEs form over 30% of the economic yield from efforts put in by the employees working in different firms which are 40 and 90 % of the total in the country respectively. Web based promotions of different businesses are on the rise. It provides an easy interface to connect with potential customers who may be located in any part of the world. Small and medium business E-commerce has a major portion of their activities controlled online. When used in the right way, SMEs can present products from different niches on an international level. Most large scale companies have already applied E-Commerce to market their services. This is evident from the various research studies already conducted on large organizations using B2B (Business to business) and EDI (Electronic Data Exchange).SMEs have a different approach to adopting changes in technology when compared to its larger counterparts. Lack of knowledge of how this works can lead to precious resources being misused or wasted. This makes it even more essential to understand and list down the procedures of implementing E-Commerce within the restricted resources of SMEs. They work effectively within a certain context only. Research results of B2B E-Commerce can be considered to be relevant to certain extent. A generalized model defines the major factors affecting SMEs to be broadly distributed within the range of the management, organization, environment of work and technology being used. These factors are an effective medium of conducting a detailed research on how SMEs and E-commerce are related. Communication with the customers, the number of customers who actually get involved, the standard of IT knowhow demonstrated by the company’s CEO and the amount of help received from the higher management constitute the main organizational factors. The compatibility of the technical options available, level of skills with regards to information systems, security features incorporated in the information systems and financial benefits constitute the main technical factors. Every Small or medium business faces a lot of competition from other previously established companies. This, along with availability of external aid and other forms of pressures, form the environmental factors. Research in the field of SMEs can proceed in different directions. Most organizations which select E-Commerce as an option felt its need at some stage of their development. SMEs now consider their plan of progress as a critical ingredient leading to their success. However, the lack of support from higher authority can significantly hinder that progress. Lack of sponsorship, rise in costs of products and breaches in security measures are other factors which can slow down the process. Read More