THE EFFECTS OF INTERNET BANKING ON THE PERFORMANCE OF RURAL BANKS: A CASE STUDY OF KAASEMAN RURAL BANK

ABSTRACT
The study was to examine the knowledge and utilization of e-banking facilities in Kaaseman Rural Bank in Ghana. The study used a quantitative and descriptive design of which customers and management of Kaaseman Rural Bank were targeted. Two hundred and eighty respondents were chosen with the aid of simple random sampling technique for selecting the customers while purposive sampling was used to select the managers of the four branches of Kaaseman Rural Bank. Questionnaire was the main data collection instruments. Furthermore, the data was analyzed and interpreted by using percentages and frequencies and presented by using tables, and charts using Excel 2013 version. However, the responses from the interviews were transcribed verbatim and discussed thematically based on the objectives of the study. It was found out that electronic cards such as ATM and e-switch, SMS Mobile Banking, and Electronic transfer were the only e-banking services at Kaaseman Rural Bank. Not that withstanding, these services were sometimes not available. There was no internet banking services at Kaaseman Rural Bank. Also, the level of awareness of e-banking services was low among the respondents. Respondents understand its usage and heard about e-banking services through their family and friends while few heard it from the workers of the Kaaseman Rural Bank. Respondents knew much about SMS Mobile banking as compared to electronic cards and electronic transfers. Therefore, it is recommended that Kaaseman Rural Bank management should enroll sensitization and educative program about all the e-banking services it offers to the customers for effective usage. Also, Kaaseman Rural Bank should introduce Internet Banking to ease cost of transportation among others and time wastage in queuing.


CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the study
Information and Communication Technologies have become an essential part of our lives. In the past decade, the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) throughout society really took off with the introduction of the Internet. The Internet started mainly as a network for researchers that gave the opportunity to share information and ideas. An important step in the commercialization of the Internet was the announcement of the World Wide Web (www) in 1991 by Tim Berners-Lee of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) (Kalakota & Whinston, 1996). The world has also become increasingly addicted to doing business in the cyberspace, across the internet and World Wide Web. Internet commerce in its own respect has expanded in various innovative forms of money, and based on digital data issued by private market actors, has in one way or another substituted for state-sanctioned bank notes and checking accounts as customary means of payments (Cohen, 2001 as cited in Obenewa, 2011).

ICT is the umbrella term that encompasses a wide selection of systems, devices and services used for data processing. In the widest sense, ‘E-business’ refers to the application of ICT technologies in business processes. Businesses response to this technology has opened an opportunity for many of them including the financial industry. Adoption of electronic banking service delivery is fast gaining ground worldwide. Different e-Banking channels such as electronic cards, internet banking and mobile banking services have been introduced (Obenewa, 2011).

Businesses have employed e-business by the use of the internet and other products as a principal means of doing business. The electronic means of producing, distributing, marketing and sales of products and services is known as E-Commerce; broadly defined, electronic commerce encompasses all kinds of commercial transactions that are concluded over an electronic medium or network, essentially the Internet. Mcandrews and Strahan (2002) defined E-finance as the provision of financial services and markets using electronic communication and computation and today banks are switching to the multi-channel distribution of financial services in hybrid platforms where the traditional services of banks are provided through both “bricks and mortar” branches and Internet.

According to Frempong (2007), banks today are becoming increasingly aware of both the threat and the opportunity that the Web represents. ICT mediated services such as automated teller machines, electronic fund transfer, electronic smart cards, cell phone banking among others are transforming the traditional ways of banking and providing a competitive edge for banks that provide those services. But, to be competitive in the Internet economy, companies need to control the power of the Internet successfully; hence it is important to understand the benefits, barriers and challenges related to businesses’ adopting of E-Business.

E-Business has dramatically changed how companies’ business process is implemented and has also enhanced industry structure and shifted the balance of power between corporations and their suppliers and customers (Basu & Muylle, 2007). The Internet is driving the economy by creating exceptional opportunities for countries, companies, and individuals around the world. Today chief executive officers worldwide recognize the strategic role that the Internet plays in their organization’s ability to endure and compete in the future. According to Basu and Muylle (2007), Companies in every industry have evaluated the opportunities and threats presented by E-Business. By thinking strategically about E-Business, managers can select technological solutions that support the company’s business strategies and create value for the company and its customers.

In the words of Balachandher, Santha, Norhazlin, and Rajendra (2001), this revolution in the marketplace has set in motion a revolution in the banking sector for the provision of a payment system that is compatible with the demands of the electronic marketplace. According to Awad (2000), there are four electronic commerce activities that users perform. These activities require a banking relationship and are shopping, banking, investing, and online electronic payment for Internet services. The enormous increase in the internet is changing the way businesses interact with consumers as most businesses are now conducted using the internet. Online banking according to Daniel (1999) is therefore defined as the provision of information or services by a bank to its customers over the internet.

The economy of Ghana is picking up the service industry especially the banking industry as they are extending their national and regional coverage to be able to provide the needed financial service and there will be a need for these businesses to understand if, when and how to use E-Business. In some industries, businesses are learning now that this is no longer an option to consider, but a requirement for survival. Internet banking allows customers to perform a wide range of banking transactions electronically via the bank’s Web site. When first introduced, Internet banking was used mainly as an informational medium in which banks marketed their products and services on their Websites. With the development of secured transaction technologies, more banks are using Internet banking as a transactional as well as an informational medium. As a result Internet banking users can now perform common banking transactions such as writing checks, paying bills, transferring funds, printing bank statements and checking account balances online using a computer (Acharya & Kagan, 2004).

E-banking has facilitated banking transactions for customers and bankers alike. Whereas it is faster, easily accessible, more convenient and readily available for customers, it is cost saving to bankers. Owing to this, e-banking has been gaining popularity as a potential medium for electronic commerce (Crede, 1995).

E-finance has numerous effects on the performance of the banks and therefore to realise the contributions of internet-banking to the growth of a country, Nupur (2010) noted that there was the need for the increase in internet access, development of new online banking features, growth of household internet usage, and the development of a good legal and regulatory framework. Therefore, this study seeks to examine the knowledge and utilization of e-banking facilities in Kaaseman Rural Bank in Ghana.

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Item Type: Ghanaian Topic  |  Size: 73 pages  |  Chapters: 1-5
Format: MS Word  |  Delivery: Within 30Mins.
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