Banking on IT

Not that Filipino bank consumers have become like the painfully fickle Japanese who want their imported mangoes from Cebu or tulips from Amsterdam in uniform sizes, but Filipino consumers are slowly and quietly transforming themselves. For instance, they now demand information technology(IT)-enabled services from their banks.

Even as the surviving IT companies ponder their direction in this still uncertain global economic climate, the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank) launched last week its Internet banking service called "metrobankdirect."

Metrobank officials say there was no other way but for them to roll out the red carpet for electronic banking amid pressures from growing consumer demands and aggressive competition from other banks.

Metrobank officials also concede that while their bank spent "a lot" of money in launching metrobankdirect, it would be difficult to give a fixed timeframe for a return on investment (ROI). However, they emphasize that in the long-run, their future is in electronic banking. Not to mention that going online is a vehicle to retain current clients clamoring for more sophisticated banking services.

Bernardito Lapuz, Metrobank senior vice president for corporate planning, says electronic banking has become "a market expectation" and that it is "almost a necessary (thing)."

Lapuz says, "We have gotten feedback from branch managers that clients have been asking when Metrobank would launch its online banking." He says it felt like "having your neighbors owning cars, and you do not have one yet."

Antonio Chua, Metrobank first vice president for network communications and engineering, says, "Filipino banking clients are obviously becoming more technology-oriented and are demanding more efficient services such as online banking."

Consumer demand

Chua says Metrobank’s clients have asked them, "When will Metrobank go online because other banks are already online?" Others have said, "I bank with you, I am proud to be with you, but why can’t you go online?" he adds.

Chua explains that Filipino consumers now demand electronic banking services because a lot of them do not have the patience anymore to tolerate inefficiencies such as falling in line to transact business with tellers and filling out forms.

Plus, going online or having the capacity for electronic banking adds premium to the image of a particular bank, positively affecting consumer image, he says.

Agnes Cruz, assistant vice president for product management, says metrobankdirect was created to give their clients wider access to their products and services, convenience, flexibility, and security of online transactions.

Cruz says metrobankdirect allows a client to engage in bank transactions such as transferring funds, paying bills, viewing account statements, or applying for a loan. "It is a vertical portal in the sense that it deals only with banking, not electronic shopping, not traffic guides, not gym equipment, and definitely not network games."

To avail himself or herself of metrobankdirect, a Metrobank customer has to enroll his or her account to be able to log on to the homepage www.metrobank.com.ph.

How to enroll

How does one enroll an account? A customer can register his or her account via the Metrophone banking facility. Or simply fill out a metrobankdirect enrollment form in any Metrobank branch. A customer will receive a welcome kit and a password mailer after his or her application is processed. An initial password mailer is in the kit, but once he or she has logged on to metrobankdirect, he or she can change the password as often as necessary for security purposes. During the initial log-on, a message will appear indicating that the system is checking if that particular computer has the required security plug-ins. After the systems check is completed, the client will be prompted to enter his user ID and password to log on.

Access to metrobankdirect allows a client to, among other things, inquire and view available, float and hold balances of the enrolled accounts; transfer funds; pay bills to accredited merchants; reorder checkbooks; inquire and view Internet banking transactions for any given day; view, print and download account statements; inquire and view interest rates on time deposits; apply for a telegraphic transfer; and apply for home or car loans and credit cards.

Cruz says the metrobankdirect’s primary target are consumers in the 20-29 age bracket who are IT-proficient, followed by the 30- to 45-year-olds who hold substantial savings, and then those in the 17-19 age group who are extremely Internet-savvy and are future bank clients.

Lapuz says they expect about 20,000 to 30,000 of Metrobank’s four million savings account holders will enroll in metrobankdirect in the next six months.