Telebanking

Introduction

Telebanking is a throwback to the days when people would call into a central number at

their bank institution in order to get balance, check status and other account-related information.

Telephone banking times can be longer than branch opening times, and its offer the

service on a 24 hour basis. From the bank's point of view, telephone banking reduces the cost of

handling transactions by reducing the need for customers to visit a bank branch for non-cash

withdrawal and deposit transactions.

To use a telephone banking facility, a customer must first register with the institution for

the service, and set up some password for customer verification. The password for telephone

banking is normally not the same as for online banking. In banks now routinely allocate

customer numbers, whether or not customers intend to access their telephone or online banking

facility. Customer numbers are normally not the same as account numbers, because a number of

accounts can be linked to the one customer number. The customer will link to the customer

number any of those accounts which the customer controls, which may be cheque, savings, loan,

credit card and other accounts.

To access telephone banking, the customer would call the special phone number set up by

the bank, and enter on the keypad the customer number and password. Some banks have set up

additional security steps for access, but there is no consistency to the approach adopted. Most

telephone banking services use an automated phone answering system with phone keypad

response or voice recognition capability. To ensure security, the customer must first authenticate

through a numeric or verbal password or through security questions asked by a live

representative.

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The types of banks which a customer may transact through telephone banking include

obtaining account balances and list of latest transactions, electronic bill payments, and funds

transfers between a customer's or another's accounts. Cash withdrawals and deposits require the

customer to visit an automated teller machine or bank branch.

Telephone banking is a service provided by a financial institution that enables customers

of the financial institution to perform financial transactions over the telephone, without the need

to visit a bank branch or automated teller machine. Telephone banking times can be longer than

branch opening times, and some financial institutions offer the service on a 24 hour basis. From

the bank's point of view, telephone banking reduces the cost of handling transactions by reducing

the need for customers to visit a bank branch for non-cash withdrawal and deposit transactions.

To use a financial institution's telephone banking facility, a customer must first register

with the institution for the service, and set up some password (under various names) for customer

verification. The password for telephone banking is normally not the same as for online banking.

Financial institutions now routinely allocate customer numbers (also under various names),

whether or not customers intend to access their telephone or online banking facility. Customer

numbers are normally not the same as account numbers, because a number of accounts can be

linked to the one customer number. The customer will link to the customer number any of those

accounts which the customer controls, which may be cheque, savings, loan, credit card and other

accounts. Some financial institutions have restrictions on which accounts may be access via

telephone banking.

To access telephone banking, the customer would call the special phone number set up by

the financial institution, and enter on the keypad the customer number and password. Some

financial institutions have set up additional security steps for access, but there is no consistency

to the approach adopted. Most telephone banking services use an automated phone answering

system with phone keypad response or voice recognition capability. To ensure security, the

customer must first authenticate through a numeric or verbal password or through security

questions asked by a live representative.

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The types of financial transactions which a customer may transact through telephone

banking include obtaining account balances and list of latest transactions, electronic bill

payments, and funds transfers between a customer's or another's accounts. Cash withdrawals and

deposits requires the customer to visit an automated teller machine or bank branch.

A customer may not be able to use telephone banking on particular bank accounts with a

financial institution, such as loan accounts, but bank rules vary in this respect.

The process involves using the keypad on a touch-tone telephone to perform a variety of

banking functions. Along with traditional banks, phone banking is also utilized extensively by

online banking institutions, including banks that conduct business primarily with the use of

telephone technology.

The concept of telephone banking has been around for several decades. Initially, the

process required manual intervention by a bank employee. Customers would call into the bank,

answer questions to verify their identities, and submit queries to the service representative. While

somewhat labor intensive, this approach did make it possible to conduct a number of banking

transactions from the comfort of home.

With the advent of touch-tone services, the idea of telephone banking took on a new

direction. Instead of connected with a live bank representative, customers could use the keypad

on a touch-tone phone to enter an automated system and obtain information on bank accounts as

of the latest posting day. One advantage of this newer approach is that bank customers could call

any time of the day or night and check the status of their accounts. As technology continued to

progress, the scope of functions that could be performed with the automated system expanded,

making the service even more valuable to customers.

Tele banking system is and interactive voice Response (IVR) application which uses a

telephone to access information from a database. It is an easy to use, cost effective and

innovative solution designed to meet user needs for electronic banking application. It provides

communication between information in IVRS system and off-site telephone caller/customer.

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There are several ways that a telephone banking service may be configured. Some

function off a validation process that includes voice recognition before access to the customer

accounts is granted. Other systems make use of login credentials such as user names and

passcodes that must be entered using the telephone keypad. Once the customers enters the

correct data, the automated system makes it possible to perform a wide range of functions in

relation to the accounts connected with the login credentials.

The typical bank telephone customer can access his or her accounts to perform a variety

of functions. Balances can be checked and the latest activity can be reviewed. The customer can

also transfer funds between accounts using telephone banking, as well as order more checks,

make loan payments, or request information on other services the bank offers.

In addition to use by traditional banks, telephone banking is also utilized by virtual banks

that rely heavily on telephone and Internet access to process transactions and provide

information to customers. Telephone banks generally function primarily by establishing access

credentials that can be used on any telephone with touch-tone service. In addition, the

transactions or queries can be conducted around the clock, an advantage that allows the

telephone bank to seek clients in any area of the world where the bank is authorized to conduct

business. While online banking access has become very popular today, most banking institutions

continue to offer telephone banking services at no charge to their customers.

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Overview of Study

With Telebanking you can manage your account from the comfort of your home, from

your office or from another location anywhere in the world. We are available from 7 a.m. to

10 p.m. daily.

Telephone banking offers you:

broad functionality for domestic and foreign payment operations with the possibility to

save templates for repeat payments

topping up of prepaid SIM cards (T-Mobile, Telefónica O2, Vodafone)

establishing, changing and cancelling of term deposits;

sending of SMS and email reports e.g.on balances and transactions

summary of accounts and balances and history of transactions

summary of debit and credit cards

summary and history of securities transactions

Benefits of Telebanking

lower-cost and more effective service for your account

wide range of banking services

make payments with the assistance of a telephone banker

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History of ATM & Telebanking

1972 (July) 14 Bankettes were installed in Toronto.

1980 (May) Royal Bank rolled out its automated banking machine network nationally with the

installation of its first Personal Touch Banking machine in Calgary.

1985 (November) Royal Bank's automated banking machine network was officially linked

with the Plus System Network, one of the largest shared automated banking machine networks in

the United States. Royal Bank was Plus System Inc.'s first international partner.

1985 The Personal Touch Banking machine network increased to 900 machines, each

processing an average of 10,000 transactions per month. Consumer acceptance of banking

machines surpassed the bank's most optimistic expectations.

1985 Royal Bank became a founding member of Interac, the shared banking machine network

in Canada that offered customers convenient access to their money at any participating financial

institution's automated banking machine.

1986 (August) Royal Bank introduced two new types of specialized banking machines in

Ontario: the Passbook Account Updater, allowing Royal Bank customers to update their

passbooks, and the Royal Bank Cash Counter, a cash dispensing automated banking machine

small enough to be placed in off-bank premises.

1986 (October) An instruction kit designed to help visually impaired clients use Personal

Touch Banking machines was distributed to all Royal Bank branches.

1988 (October) Royal Bank piloted Personal Touch Payment in London, Ontario - a new debit

card service where clients could use their Royal Bank Client Cards to pay for purchases directly

from their accounts at point-of-sale terminals.

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1990 (October) The Interac Association, representing all of Canada's major financial

institutions, piloted its debit card service, Interac Direct Payment Service, in the Ottawa/Hull

region.

1992 Royal Bank had a total of 2,145 full-service Personal Touch Banking machines, 1,653

Cash Counters and 266 Account Updater machines across Canada.

1992 Royal Bank's discount brokerage service, Action Direct, launched TelAction.

1993 (March) Royal Bank launched CashTouch, a nationwide telephone banking service for

business clients, the first service of its kind in Canada. CashTouch gave clients remote access to

account information and transactional services through an interactive voice response system.

1994 (Fall) Royal Direct, offering customers telephone banking "at anytime, from anywhere",

was launched from its state of the art telecommunications centre in Mississauga, Ontario.

1994 (May) Royal Direct officially opened in high tech facilities in Moncton, New Brunswick

- its second national telephone banking centre. View Image

1995 (July) Royal Bank launched the "Phantom," a new Interac Direct Payment device that

offered merchants the widest variety of functions of any Interac product available in Canada.

1995 (November) In London, Ontario, Royal Bank began a three-year project designed to

develop and test new automated banking machine functions including: deposit account and VISA

statements, transfers and withdrawals from Royal Credit Lines, lump sum payments on personal

loans, and U.S. dollar and U.S. dollar travellers cheques dispensing.

1996 (December) Royal Mutual Funds launched Invest By Phone, enabling investors to buy,

sell or transfer RMF units by phone from anywhere in Canada or the continental United States.

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1996 (December) After two years in operation, enrolment in Royal Direct Telephone Banking

surpassed 900,000 clients - expanding daily by 2,000 clients - making it the fastest growing

telephone banking service in the world.

1997 (February) Two new automated banking machines that dispensed U.S. dollars and Royal

Bank VISA travellers cheques in U.S. dollars (a first for a Canadian financial institution) were

piloted in London and Toronto.

1997 (July) Royal Bank introduced the Royal Business OperatingLine group of self-managed

financing products. The service allowed business clients to manage their own operating line of

funds with round-the-clock electronic access via banking machines, telephone banking, or online

banking.

1997 (October) Royal Bank launched Canada's first Audio Banking Machine.

1998 (Spring) Royal Bank began pilot testing innovative Business Banking kiosks in six

Ontario locations. The kiosks provide Royal Bank Business Banking clients with access to an

automated banking machine, night depository, automated rolled-coin dispenser, individual

mailboxes, and a dedicated phone link to a 24-hour help desk.

1999 (May) Royal Bank and Microcell Solutions Inc., the national provider of Fido PCS

Service, announced plans to pilot wireless banking services that give Microcell customers access

to Royal Bank financial services directly from their Fido handset display.

2000 (September) Royal Bank introduced Mobile Banking. Offered in partnership with

Microcell Solutions Inc., national provider of Fido® Personal Communications Services (PCS),

the service provides wireless transactional banking services through Fido's Access Finances

feature. Customers use their Fido handsets to check account balances, transfer funds, and pay

bills.

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Overview of Telebanking

Tele-Banking system developed by Webyfy is for demonstrating the feasibility of

creating a very large IVR system using the WTalk application Frame work. The system can

manage both inbound and out bound calls and can integrate with Internet, SMS, Fax, email,

customer enterprise and Core banking systems. The components which constitutes the system are

The processes (Types of services that are provided through the system)

Voice files

External system communication parameters

Methods of communicating with external systems like SMS, email, Fax etc

Rules for Out Bound calls

Functionalities

The TeleBanking system has two modes of operation namely; Inbound and Outbound.

Both modes can be operated simultaneously through different or same infrastructure. Inbound

mode receives calls and the caller is navigated through a predefined menu; primarily intended for

an existing customer. Out bound system helps in carrying out telemarketing activities or

intimating the existing customers about specific warnings like a cheque bounce or lack of

balance in an account etc.

Inbound Functions

Following features are provided to the customers of the Bank for IVR (interactive voice

response) based self service.

The customers calls and logs in using a log in id and password to access the TeleBanking system.

In order to ensure security, the customers can be asked to change the PIN number on the first log

in.

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The following are some of the services that can be provided

1. Accept request from a customer for facilitating TeleBanking.

2. Change password compulsorily on first time use of Phone Banking services.

3. Check your account balance

4. Request to send the last five transactions by SMS And / Or email to the customer

5. Check balances in various accounts like savings account, current account, or loan account

6. Enquire on the status of cheques issued

7. Enquire on the cheques deposited

8. Order a Cheque Book / Account Statement

9. Stop Payment for a cheque or a series of cheques

10. Loan related queries like placing request, checking on the approval status

11. Request to Contact Bank Executives for certain services

12. Enquire on your Fixed deposits / TDs

13. Transfer Funds between accounts in different branches if they are under the same

customer ID

14. Request a Demand Draft / Manager's Cheque

15. Pay Bills

Telephone bills,

Insurance Premium

Electricity Bills

Water and other services bills etc

16. Report loss of your ATM / Debit Card / ForexPlus Card

Outbound Functions

The Out Bound system can be used for primarily for two purposes. Telemarketing and for

issuing messages to customers. The telemarketing efforts can be for new prospect acquisition or

for getting feedbacks from a market segment. These calls can also gather information from the

called persons.

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Under the following situations, the system can initiate an out bound call and get

acknowledgement from the customer.

1. Loan payment default

2. No minimum balance

3. Bounced cheques

4. Loan approvals

5. Submission of documents for loan approval

6. Approval of loans

Hierarchy of services in a Banking Tele portal

Architecture

For data exchange, WTalk can connect to systems within an Enterprise LAN or

connected through the Internet. DCOM (Distributed Component Object Model) is used for the

former and SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is used for the later.

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The TeleBanking system has significant interaction with Core Banking system and hence

it is recommended that it is hosted with in the enterprise Framework. However various methods

are shown in the diagram given below. DCOM will be faster than SOAP in fetching the data.

Process Execution Modules in a typical Tele-Banking system.

Process Flow

To make the processes IVR (interactive voice response) enabled, the flow need to be

plotted. Simple flow charts may be created to represent the processes. These charts can be

analyzed for its purpose and integrity. The flow chart aids creation of execution scripts and

Voice User Interface (VUI).

The following process flows are representative flow charts for a TeleBanking system.

Process Flow of the Initial Customer Interaction

Process Flow of Transactions with Savings /Current Account

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Script Creation

The business process flows can be converted into IVR Execution Script using WTalk

Script Generation Engine. The actions can be defined along with required resources.

The script traverse paths can be automatically tested.

Requirements

The system is designed to operate in Microsoft Windows platform. The system can

support CTI (Computer telephony integration) Hardware and TTS (The Transplantation

Society) / ASR (Active Search Results) engines from multiple vendors.

The hardware requirement depends on the traffic, mode of integration and method of data

exchange with external systems.

The requirements are

1. WTalk servers with CTI hardware

2. Database servers

3. Fire walls

4. DCOM servers / communication and control servers

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5. Web sever in case SOAP connection through internet is required OR access is

provided to customers for reports and/or alterations of process or data

6. Internet access

Customization

The following methodology is recommended for creation script of an IVR (interactive voice

response) system.

1. Identify the service that can be offered through a voice based system

2. Split the services into multi level actions

3. Plot the services and actions in a process map

4. User WTalk script generator to convert the process map into an IVR (interactive

voice response) action script

5. Conduct multi mode automatic Testing of the system

6. Run the WTalk Real life Simulator and test the functionality and process flows.

7. Analyze the log files and take corrective actions

8. Identify the data input and outputs

9. Use the WTalk tools appropriately for exchanging the data with Enterprise system

10. Install the system along wit hardware

11. Test the installation with call flow paths created by WTalk

Telebanking Password

The Telebanking password is a six-digit number and represents one of the security

details. You have received your Telebanking password by post in a special registered mail. The

same registered mail contains also the client number and the Telebanking password.

The Telebanking password is used:

For verification in the SERVIS 24 Telebanking service,

In user unblocking.

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For these purposes it is always necessary to use the current Telebanking password, i.e. the

Telebanking password, which is valid after its last change.

The Telebanking password can be changed through the automatic voice service. With the

telephone banker’s assistance you can also ask for the generation of a new password for

Telebanking which will be sent to you by post. The validity of the original Telebanking

password will be terminated as soon as the new security details are created.

An example of the registered mail content with security details

Services:

Balance enquiry - Deposit Accounts and Loans.

Fund transfer (linked accounts) Bill payment.

TPIN (Tele banking personal Identification Number) Change.

Cheque book request.

Statement request.

Fixed Deposit (FD) / Savings rate enquiry etc.,

Account Balance

Review your financial transactions and account activity with telebanking

1 Call (973) 17214444

2 Select 'Language'

3 Press 1 for 'Account Operations'

4 Enter 'Customer ID' followed by the # key

5 Enter 'ePIN' followed by the # key

6 Press 1 for 'Account Balance'

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Mini Statement

Review your financial transactions and account activity with Telebanking

1 Call (973) 17214444

2 Select ‘Language’

3 Press 1 for ‘Account Operations’

4 Enter ‘Customer ID’ followed by the # key

5 Enter ‘ePIN’ followed by the # key

6 Select 4 for ‘Account Statement’

7 Select 1 for the last five transactions

Previous Statement

Review your financial transactions and account activity with Telebanking

1 Call (973)17214444

2 Select ‘Language’

3 Press 1 for ‘Account Operations’

4 Enter ‘Customer ID’ followed by the # key

5 Enter ‘ePIN’ followed by the # key

6 Press 4 for ‘Account Statement’

7 Press 2 for the ‘Previous Statement’

8 Enter From Date : DDMMYYYY - Day (2 digits), Month (2 digits) and Year (4

digits)

9 Enter To Date : DDMMYYYY - Day (2 digits), Month (2 digits) and Year (4

digits)

10 Enter fax number followed by the # key

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Current Statement

Review your financial transactions and account activity with Telebanking

1 Call (973) 17214444

2 Select ‘Language’

3 Press 1 for ‘Account Operations’

4 Enter ‘Customer ID’ followed by the # key

5 Enter ‘ePIN’ followed by the # key

6 Press 4 for ‘Account Statement’

7 Press 3 for the ‘Current Statement’

8 Press 1 to receive information by fax then enter fax number followed by the # key

9 Press 2 to send information to registered mailing address

Fund Transfer

Transfer between your accounts in real-time

1 Call (973)17214444

2 Select ‘Language’

3 Press 1 for ‘Account Operations’

4 Enter ‘Customer ID’ followed by the # key

5 Enter ‘ePIN’ followed by the # key

6 Press 3 for Fund Transfer

7 Select ‘From account’ and ‘To account’

8 Enter the amount including 3 decimals followed by the # key

9 Press 1 to confirm the entered telephone number, amount and from account or 2

to cancel

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Cheque Book Request

Request through Telebanking with a simple phone call!

1 Call (973) 17214444

2 Select ‘Language’

3 Press 1 for ‘Account Operations’

4 Enter ‘Customer ID’ followed by the # key

5 Enter ‘ePIN’ followed by the # key

6 Press 7 for ‘Cheque Book Request’

7 Enter the number of books required followed by the # key

8 Enter contact number

9 Press 1 to confirm the entered telephone number, amount and from account or 2

to cancel

Bill Payment

Perform real-time Zain bill payment from account with a simple phone call!

1 Call (973) 17214444

2 Select ‘Language’

3 Press 1 for ‘Account Operations’

4 Enter ‘Customer ID’ followed by the # key

5 Enter ‘ePIN’ followed by the # key

6 Press 2 for ‘Bill Payment’

7 Enter telephone number followed by the # key

8 Enter the amount including 3 decimals followed by the # key

9 Press 1 to confirm the entered telephone number, amount and from account or 2

to cancel

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Change ePIN

Change your ePIN with a simple phone call anywhere and anytime!

1 Call (973) 17214444

2 Select ‘Language’

3 Press 2 to change ePIN

4 Enter ‘Customer ID’ followed by the # key

5 Enter current ePIN followed by the # key

6 Enter new ePIN followed by the # key

7 Enter new ePIN again followed by the # key

Cheque Book Request using IVR (interactive voice response) System

A person who has an account - whether it is savings, current or any other - in a bank will

naturally expect excellent services from their bank. They will compare the services provided

with those that of other banks. It doesn't mean that a bank having a big list of value-added

services would have the maximum number of customers. The customers will consider many

other factors also like time, hospitality, consistency, punctuality etc. For example, if a bank

having a big list of value-added services is not serving on time, then what is the use of having an

account there.

In the present scenario, to request for and get a new cheque book, the customers have got

only two options. Either walk down to the bank to request for a new cheque book and collect it

or use Internet banking facility, if available, to send a request through e-mail for the cheque book

and ask the bank to courier it.

In this speed age, walking down to the bank to request for the cheque book and collecting

it is a time consuming task. There is another main drawback for this option - it can be done only

during the banking hours.

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Then they have to go for the other option - Internet banking. For this, they need

computers, Internet connectivity and sufficient working knowledge. All customers need not have

this infrastructure. Even if anybody has, they have to sit in front of the system to get the

information.

IVR (interactive voice response) system developed by Xtend Technologies Pvt. Ltd. can

easily handle the Tele-banking enquiries, which will help the banks streamline their staffs to

more manual-intensive jobs thus enhancing productivity and reducing paper environments.

Role of an IVR (interactive voice response) System

Implementation of an interactive voice response (IVR) system to automate the provision

of the cheque book request enquiry can easily replace the labour-intensive manual activities of

the banks. The new system can streamline and standardise the process at a substantial cost

savings. This like a normal telephone enquiry system facilitates enquiries in the form of a request

for the issue of a new cheque book to the caller.

IVR (interactive voice response ) based automated information systems using ordinary phones

are becoming very popular and affordable these days. Instead of relying on word of mouth that is

quickly out of date and expensive, automatic phone messaging lets you contact the right point

and get the most accurate, reliable and latest information instantly from your seat!

A user-friendly automated service menu offers you convenient access to your account coupled

with security as all your transactions are protected by your PIN (Personal Identification

Number).

In general, the IVR (interactive voice response ) access mechanisms for Tele-banking are

as follows. For deposits, the customer would need to key-in his ATM/Debit card number and its

corresponding ATM PIN or the Bank Account Number and the corresponding PIN. For credit

cards, the customer would need to key-in his 16-digit card number and its corresponding ATM

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PIN. For Demat account holders, the customer would need to key-in his 14-digit demat account

number and its TPIN. For Bond account holders, the customer would need to key in his bonds

holder number only.

In addition, instead of going for the automated service, if you need any assistance on your

banking needs, you can speak to any of the friendly customer service officers.

Using an IVR (interactive voice response ) system, a customer can get controlled access

to his accounts information and can easily retrieve the latest information on the various Tele-

banking services provided by the bank such as cheque book request. When a person dials the

number from an ordinary telephone, he is automatically taken into the IVR (interactive voice

response ) system because the telephone line is connected directly to it. After the welcome

message, the system will first ask the caller to 'press 1' to get their latest account balance status or

'press 2' to get their mini statement on the last five transactions or 'press 3' to go to the 'cheque

book request' and so on.

If the caller presses 3 on his phone keypad after the welcome message, he will be directed

to the cheque book request module. The caller will then get a voice message to press 1 for

Saving Bank Account or press 2 for Current Account, etc. When the caller presses the desired

key, he/she will be asked to key-in his/her account number. This part will identify the customer.

Now, for authentication, again they will be asked to enter their PIN (Personal Identification

Number). Once the customer is authenticated, he/she will be asked to 'press 1' for a cheque book

request or 'press 2' to go to other services. When the caller presses 1, his request for a new

cheque book will be registered in the bank's database. After processing, the bank will deliver the

cheque book at the customer's doorstep. Anytime after opening an account, the customer should

register with the bank to avail the Tele-banking services. When the caller exits from the system,

he/she will be greeted with a 'thank you, visit again' message.

The main advantage of an IVR (interactive voice response ) based system is that the

caller can any time get the latest updated information on the various value-added services of the

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bank by just keying in the respective numbers on an ordinary telephone. Customising the IVR

(interactive voice response ) system can also incorporate provision for many other features like

logging of all the incoming calls, report on the list of customers who efficiently use a particular

Tele-banking facility, etc. Adding the multi-lingual features can solve linguistic problems.

Phone banking is a convenient way to bank 24 hours a day, 7 days a week subject to

system availability and maintenance. With Phone banking you can manage your accounts in a

fast, easy and simple manner and what's more, you can do it from the comfort of your home,

workplace or anywhere where you have a telephone. There are no fees for using this service so

not only can your banking be much easier, with careful planning it can also be fee free.

Cheque Book Request System can now be accomplished quickly, efficiently and cost-

effectively using the latest and most modern IVR (interactive voice response ) technology from

Xtend Technologies.

Advantages of an IVR (interactive voice response ) System

Automatically handle every call from customers.

Answer calls on the first ring, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

Speak to callers in human tone of voice.

Optional multi-lingual prompts.

Provide accurate and reliable information, up to date.

Resources your present personnel for more productive work.

Smoothens the status information process.

The Bottom Line

Expanded Customer Service Hours

Standardised Operational Procedures

Improved Customer Service

Enhanced Productivity

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Streamlined Staffing

Lower Cost

Efficient Information Flow

Reduced Staffing Requirements

Reduced Paper Environment

Improved Customer Satisfaction

Features and Benefits:

Provides round-the-clock availability of information and conduct banking

transactions over the telephone.

Improves services levels to off-site customers with efficiency of information

release.

Replaces the physical operators.

Crowds can be minimized at counters.

Facility to access the account any where any time.

Solution comes with minimum of four PSTN analog telephone lines.+

Fully secured.

The Pros and Cons of Telephone Banking

There are numerous pros and cons associated with telephone banking, including ease of

use and potential security threats presented through access to personal information. Banking over

a telephone system can often be more convenient than banking in person, since some functions

can be accessed even when a bank is closed. This type of banking also allows various issues to

be more easily resolved for multiple customers at once, since some information and procedures

are automated and do not require human interaction. There are some potential disadvantages with

telephone banking, however, including difficulties that may be present in accessing an automated

telephone system and security risks that can be created by providing bank access without human

interaction.

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Telephone banking refers to the use of a system to allow customers of a bank to process

various banking procedures over the telephone. Such services can include anything from

applying for loans and altering the terms of an existing account to ordering new checks and

monitoring the balance in an account. The ease of access for such services is one of the major

advantages that telephone banking can provide for customers. Telephone services can be

provided 24 hours a day, unlike most services provided at bank locations which are typically

closed in the evenings, on weekends, and on many holidays.

Since telephone banking can utilize an automated system, multiple customers can also be

helped simultaneously. Simple questions regarding bank locations, branch hours, and even

account balances can all be handled by such systems. This allows those operators or associates

who are available to help fewer customers and focus on providing more thorough customer

service, without taking time to answer simple questions that do not require human assistance.

Telephone banking is not without its potential negative aspects, however, and many of

these problems depend on the type of system developed by a bank. Automated phone systems are

somewhat notorious for difficulty in use, especially older systems that may not recognize voices

or other forms of input. Newer telephone banking systems have improved upon many of these

flaws, but the menus utilized by such systems may still be difficult to effectively navigate.

There are also some potential security risks that arise through the use and development of

telephone banking systems. Since customers are not actually present and face-to-face with a bank

teller or manager, it may be easier for identify theft to occur and produce misrepresentation of

customer needs over the telephone. This can be controlled through various security protocols

incorporated into a phone banking system, but even these measures can be insufficient in some

instances.

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