The Internet's Impact on Electronic Banking

With the rapid expansion of global banks and multi-national corporations over the past decade there has been an increasing demand on financial institutions to be able to deliver their services electronically. In many cases, banks were forced to expand electronic delivery applications that were not meant to service a multi-currency, multi-location environment. The cost of redeveloping, deploying and supporting these applications was thought to be a cost of doing business or an investment in the future, however, in some cases the saving that were to be realized through cost reduction or new revenues never developed.

In 1995 OIS released the Windows based version of its electronic banking product. Through the use of the product several financial institutions were able to change the cost dynamics of electronic banking. Its NT server often replaced Tandem or mainframe "hubs." Table driven applications replaced hard coded applications that required programmers to make the smallest of changes. A single, flexible, applications for information delivery and another for transaction entry replaced a myriad of applications that needed to be tailored to the individual business. Unstable communications were replaced with industry standard tools like TCP/IP. We also brought down the cost of communications with applications that only moved the changes to data and compression algorithms that often resulted in savings in the 10 to 1 range.

However, a few issues still remained. Software was still sitting at each client's desktop on the LAN. This software needed to be installed and supported on an ongoing basis. Smaller, less sophisticated customers needed a disproportionate amount of hand holding in installations, maintaining passwords and database maintenance. The use of a browser connected to an application on the bank's premises solved these problems. The application software and database reside in one place; there is no distribution no matter how many customers are connected. Time to market is minimized for new products since as soon as the centralized server is updated all customers see the new feature the next time they log onto the system. Entitlements can be maintained centrally and are easily reset in case of a lost or expired password.

OIS' Internet based electronic banking solution provides all these features in one application. Security is performed through the use of 128 bit encryption using SSL (Secure Socket Layer). Users can customize reports with sort, filter and drag & drop capability. Data can be exported in industry standards such as XML, PDF, HTML or user defined formats such as SWIFT. All applications are capable of handling multi-currencies. Transactions are edited online and can be entered in one location and affirmed in another providing for tri-party transaction types like commercial paper and collateral management. Transactions are delivered in a format determined by the host to allow for Straight Through Processing (STP).

About Open Information Systems (OIS)

Since 1995 Open Information Systems, (OIS) has been providing innovative e-Commerce solutions to Fortune 1000 companies worldwide. Our ability to develop customer tailored solutions for the information delivery and transaction entry needs of the Financial Services Industry is without parallel. Our clients include some of the most prestigious Banks, Brokerage Firms and Insurance Companies from around the world. Our solutions are designed to leverage your investment in existing technology while providing your customers with the e-Commerce solutions they demand.

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