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BoI's e-banking services to get facelift
12-06-2006
by Maxim Kelly

Bank of Ireland has announced a EUR5 million revamp of its online banking service ahead of an expected summer holiday surge in usage of its Banking 365 site.

The new-look Bank of Ireland 365 online banking service will sport a range of improved services such as the ability to register and view mortgage, SSIA, or investment accounts online. The bank said it is gearing up now so it is ready for the spike of online usage during the summer months.

The bank said it traditionally sees extra activity during the Summer as people check balances, transfer money, and make payments in preparation for their holidays.

Bank of Ireland's number of online customers has increased to over 530,000 customers nationwide, a jump of 88 percent in the past four years. The number of bill payments and money transfers online has increased by 128 percent in the same period to over 4 million a year. In a statement, the bank said it records 17 million unique logins per annum.

"With our improved online banking service, more and more customers can manage their day-to-day banking needs in the comfort of their own homes, giving them more free time and saving them hassle," said Mary Dillon, head of the Bank's Contact Centre.

The online upgrade is one of the initiatives within the Bank of Ireland's new customer service programme, which is being delivered on a phased basis beginning this month.

Banks and the financial services sector are increasingly embracing the internet as a way for customers to access their accounts without tying up the time of telesales staff or, indeed, the traditional branch cashier.

Quinn Life recently made the move online claiming to be the first Irish life assurance company to offer a full online policy valuation and policyholder service across its product range.

Meanwhile, one financial services firm that is reaping the benefits of the internet is online savings bank RaboDirect, which last month reported it had attracted custom from 100 Irish millionaires, after only one year of operation in the country. The Dutch bank has garnered EUR700 million in deposits as well as investments of EUR20 million through its Irish internet bank since starting the Dublin-based unit. It expects to have EUR1 billion of deposits in Ireland by the end of this year, according to the head of the Irish online business, Greg McAweeney.

Although online banking and financial services are undoubtedly growing in popularity -- buoyed by banking charge discounts from the likes of AIB and Bank of Ireland -- security is still a major concern.

A recent poll organised by electronic security specialists SophosLabs found a high frequency of phishing e-mails often purport to come from financial organisations and banks. The Sophos survey found that 20 percent of business respondents received more than five phishing e-mails per day. According to Sophos, financial organisations have done little except issue warnings to customers.

"It's down to what is most cost-effective," Sophos senior security consultant Carole Theriault told ENN in February. "The banks have to weigh the business costs of phishing against the cost of issuing hardware to its customers."