Electronic Banking UK
Peter Shirreffs, director of retail banking at Royal Bank of Scotland
International, regards the internet as complementary to international
financial services, but unlikely to lead to fundamental changes
in the industry.
“Going back some years, people went to a bank’s branches.
Then we had cash machines and then 24-hour telephone banking. The
internet is just another delivery channel,” he says.
Electronic Banking UK And The Publics Appetite
Shirreffs believes the internet will never overcome the public’s
appetite for face-to-face contact with financial advisers and bank
managers. However, RBSI is to develop an online service in
response to customer demand.
Electronic Banking UK & Customers
“Customers are asking for internet banking and we expect
a 10 per cent segment of our customer base will be conducting
online business within the first couple of years of the new
service,” says Shirreffs.
Maxwell at Friends Provident also believes the internet will
complement conventional forms of international financial services
rather than replace them.
“It is just a way to communicate with people
and we have not seen any reduction in the amount of paper that comes
from dealings with brokers,” he says.
Electronic Banking UK & Standard Bank
Standard Bank’s Lindsay Bateman maintains that while the
internet may not be a suitable medium to establish a productive
relationship with new clients, it is an adequate means to maintain
contact.
He says: “Face-to-face contact is extremely important,
but when you already have a relationship with a client you do
not have to see him in person every time an offer becomes available.”
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