Management of Information Technology
Banks and financial institutions are relying increasingly on information technology to support growth and expansion into the global marketplace. The major technologies which are used nowadays include Internet banking, mobile banking, telephone banking, smart cards, credit cards, and automated teller machines (ATM's). These methods allow customers to carry out many routine transactions without going into a branch. However, with all of the benefits that technology brings to the banking industry, it also brings increased risks and threats. Many banks are faced with a growing concern over the impact of dissatisfied employees, unauthorized users, industr ...view middle of the document...
There may be times when it is not possible to access a personal computer. It is in these particular situations that one can use mobile and telephone banking. The latter is also an innovative way of conducting banking from the commodity of one's home with helpful interactive voice prompts to assist in both English and Maltese, this also helps complete daily banking transactions within minutes. One of the largest networks commonly used nowadays by banks is the internet. This directly provides a connection within different branches of banks and also, interrelates the customer at home with the bank. Both banks practice internet banking and sustain that you cannot get information on your accounts any faster than through internet banking. It involves the customers providing their identity through a form of registration which hence enables the client to access their financial services through a website. Internet banking has affected banks in such a way that customers have started using banking services at home rather than physically visiting a branch, and this shows how banking has become more I.T. based. If the customer, while accessing banking services via internet, looses the internet connection during a transaction the customer may find it difficult to determine whether the transaction went through or not. Internet banking is not as secure as telephone banking because in telephone banking no one will know the actual digits being keyed in, while in internet banking there is the fear of intruders. One distinct feature of the two main banks located in Malta is the type of network they utilise. Due to the international nature of HSBC bank, a wide area network it seemed to be more appropriate whilst in the case of the Bank of Valletta a local area network seemed more adequate.Smart cards and credit cards are another two electronic forms of payment offered by banks. The actual smart card differs from the student smart card because even though the latter has a magnetic stripe and is also used as a form of payment, it is not related to banks. The smart card resembles a credit card in size and shape but inside it is embedded with an 8-bit microprocessor. An example of such a smart card in Malta is the Sterling Jewellers smart card which enables the client to enact a purchase via plastic money. Smart cards provide banks with very high security; enabling additional services such as electronic purse and internet payment as well as a credit or debit facility, allowing secure access to electronic commerce and online transactions. EFTPOS refers to electronic funds transfer at point of sale which is a system which makes use of magnetic strip cards in order to process debit and credit cards as well as smart cards. However, a major disadvantage of such medium is that the data on the stripe can easily be read, written, deleted or changed with off-the-shelf equipment. The EFTPOS is mainly found in the majority of all retail outlets and over the years has enab...
