Stanbic joins the info superhighway

| Wednesday August 15, 2007 00:00

Significantly for a country whose banks are notorious for high service charges, Stanbic is offering the Internet service free of any monthly fees.  An offshoot of the service will permit customers to intercept issued cheques and view transactions real time.

Says Dennis Kennedy, the Managing Director of the bank: 'Our system incorporates the latest software which allows our customers to perform a wide range of banking activities without leaving their home or office.'  The foolproof facility provides around-the-clock accessibility to banking services, including the immediate transfer of customers' funds between their various banking accounts, as well as the ability to transfer funds to other banks' accounts in Botswana.  Customers need not worry about computer hackers breaking into their data as the system includes the highest possible levels of security, such as the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol, which encrypts data at a very high level. 

It also incorporates one-time passwords (OTP), which provide enhanced levels of security against possible hackers and which, for convenience, can be sent to customers' cellphones.

Stanbic Bank has negotiated payment arrangements with MultiChoice and Orange, which will allow its customers to settle their accounts immediately at any time of day using the Internet banking service.

 Internet payment facilities for other service providers are expected to follow soon. In addition to the payment facility offered by the service, Stanbic customers will also be able to stop payment immediately on issued cheques, view transactions for the previous 90 days with e-mail confirmations of each transaction as it happens, configure post-dated payments into the system so that accounting details can be performed at any time during the month with payment dates being determined by the user. 'We also have a software feature which will allow users to import their banking transaction details into their accounting package of choice,' says Kennedy.

'This automates this element of the accounting function which we believe will appeal to bookkeepers and accountants in this country.'