Year: 2020

Data center management refers to the role of an individual within the data center (data center manager) who is responsible for overseeing technical and IT issues within the data center. This includes computer and server operations, data entry, data security, data quality control and management of the services and applications used for data processing.

Data center management integrates into other IT systems for complete data synchronization including virtual systems, proprietary systems, and automation. Data center management requires a number of tools, IT policies and strategies to create and maintain a secure and efficient data center.

The data center is responsible for the management of large data sets and hardware systems that are part of an organization’s large distributed network serving employees and customers. Data center management plays a crucial role in protecting data and keeping it secure to avoid data security breaches.

The hosted computer environment within a data center must continuously be managed, but most of this management is now automated. Data centers can be managed remotely and may not even house actual employees (dark or lights-out data centers). Functions of data center management include upgrading hardware and software/operating systems, managing data distribution and storage, backup policies, contingency planning, and technical support.

What are some of the Data Center Management Challenges?

Modern enterprise data centers are some of the most technically sophisticated infrastructures on earth. Ironically, they are also often rife with inefficiency, with equipment utilization well below ten percent and nearly 30 percent of the servers being zombies (consuming electricity but performing no useful service). Data center operators also struggle to keep pace with rapid changes in deployments of computing equipment. This leads to the discussion of Data Center Management Best Practices.

• SLA management – Customer dissatisfaction and business loss
• Cost of downtime regarding personnel & productivity
• Securing Data Center Networks
• Government restrictions
• Technology Refresh
• Disaster Recovery
• Scalability

What are some Data Center Management Best Practices?

There are 3 primary phases to Data Center Management

• Monitorand Visualize the details and activities across all systems and locations
• Analyze how to utilize the data center more efficiently to save energy and space or increase the utilization of existing equipment
• Automate the action layer, which allows for synchronized management across the silos of facility, IT hardware, networks, and applications.

These primary phases:

• Ensure that you provide the highest fidelity in connectivity
• Support sustainability and longevity of the facility
• Assure availability of power to servers and data access to users
• Embrace change in business demands and technology
• Guard against known and unknown threats and unauthorized access.

Bank Network Management (BNM) is a global team with presence in various locations. The team manages relationships with agent banks to provide transparency, governance, and control over real World Bank accounts which Citigroup holds globally, both with Citi affiliates and 3rd party banks. BNM manages key relationships with the global agent bank and custody service providers, Finance, Regulatory, Legal & Compliance, Global Operations, Global Treasury, Product teams, etc.

Services include managing of: bank relations, pricing negotiations, service reviews, regulatory support & documentation and acting as a centralized escalation point.

An interbank network, also known as an ATM consortium or ATM network, is a computer network that enables ATM cards issued by a financial institution that is a member of the network to be used to perform ATM transactions through ATMs that belong to another member of the network.

However, the functions which may be performed at the network ATM vary. For example, special services, such as the purchase of mobile phone airtime, may be available to own-bank but not to network ATM cardholders. Furthermore, the network ATM owner may charge a fee for use of network cards (in addition to any fees imposed by the own-bank).

Interbank networks enable ATM cardholders to have access to ATMs of other banks that are members of the network when their own bank’s ATM is unavailable. This is especially convenient for travelers traveling abroad, where multinational interbank networks, like Plus or Cirrus, are widely available.

Interbank networks also permit, through different means, the use of ATM cards at a point of sale through the use of a special EFTPOS terminal where ATM cards are treated as debit cards.

Main Channels for Delivery of Banking Services

Branch Banking

A branch of a bank is a place, office, unit where all banking operations are done under the single roof. People go to the branch for their banking requirements. This is the most popular and therefore most important channel of the Bank.

It is a place where customers can visit personally and can make use of different kind of services and banking products in one place. In case of any difficulty the customers are able to seek advise of the bank staff, remove their all doubts, get their all clarifications about banking operations.

Branch in fact is a place that serves as a channel of sales and services and bank employees can play vital role of customer satisfaction with smile. The branch is a channel that can boost the image of the entire bank by developing personal relations with customers and enhancing the customer relationship management of the bank.

Extension Counters

The Extension Counter is a part of Branch Banking. Whenever any Branch deals with some huge Business House, A big Institution or Organization may be Government or Private it has to perform banking transactions in Bulk. In addition to keeping the accounts of such big houses, branch has to provide banking services to the staff of these organizations which may run in thousands in number. Other ancillary services are also required to be provided by the branch.

In case such organizations are not located very near to the branch the dealing branch opens a counter in the premises of such organization to facilitate the easy access to banking requirements and deploys some staff on such Extension Counters. The business conducted by these extension counters is always on behalf of the main branch and is taken into the account of the branch itself.

In other words the counter functions like a mini branch and provides all banking services either on the counter itself or through the main Branch. Previously banks were required to obtain license from RBI for opening extension counters now RBI has permitted all banks without obtaining its permission.

Mobile Banking

In the era of stiff competition every bank want to reach to maximum people to enhance their customer base. In this process some of the banks have started Mobile banking services. A mobile van is equipped with necessary equipment’s and a few staff members are assigned the duty on such vans.

These vans roam about the local area in order to provide door to door service to its customers. But in such a system very limited banking services are provided. The main services include receipt and payment of cash only. Some ancillary services like balance enquiry, cheque collection are also provided.

ATM Channel of Banking

In simple words The ATM is known as Automated Teller Machine. Before the introduction of ATM in 80’s the people were familiar with one teller only. A human being sitting behind the cash counter and making cash payments or receiving cash from customers. For cash transactions one was required to go to the teller physically and that too within the working hours of the bank. The invention of the ATM has changed the entire scenario.

Now you can withdraw money 24 hours a day without going to bank through an ATM installed in a nearby place. It has provided customers an option to access the banking services beyond the regular banking hours. ATM is a machine for receiving and dispensing cash round the clock. In its initial stage it was able to dispense cash only without able to perform any other function.

With advancement of technology the present time ATMs have been equipped with multitask technology and can perform following services:

• Cash withdrawal
• Cash Deposits
• Balance Enquiry
• Providing mini statement
• Deposit cheques
• Fund Transfers

Some more advance ATMs provides services like paying utility Bills, Recharging Mobile services, Cheque Book requests. Etc.

The services from ATM can be availed only after one applies with the bank a request to issue him an ATM card. On receiving the request bank issues an ATM Card. This card carries a Personal Identification Number popularly known as (PIN). This number is generated by the computers of the bank at random. Only the customer and nobody else know this number.

This number in inscribed on a magnetic strip along with the Account number of the customer from which customer would like transact his banking transactions. This magnetic strip is in fact data storage devise about the particular customer and is secret one. While using the ATM card with magnetic strip fixed on its back works as tool to access the account to be operated.

As soon as the customer swipes the card, his account number is activated. ATM reads the information contained in the magnetic strip and finding the valid account number synchronized with PIN number, it advises the customer to enter the PIN number. After ensuring the authenticity of the user the ATM provides a field containing different services. Customer is free to choose among the list of services and proceed with the desired transactions.

Mobile Banking or Phone Banking, Tele-Banking

It is matter of surprise that many people are using mobile or phone banking without knowing that restricted services are being provided to them. Like ATM it is another electronic banking Channel which provides round the clock 24 hours banking for the customers. You deposit some amount in cash or through cheques a SMS shall flash on your mobile informing that such and such amount has been credited in your such and such account.

Likewise the moment any withdrawal is made from your account a similar message shall be sent on your mobile. This phone banking is one part that banks are doing themselves to keep their customers updated about the transactions of their respective accounts.

On the other part customers can approach to their banks and request for using the Phone banking or tele-banking. The bank shall enable its customers with their computerized system of IVR. This IVR technology is known as Interactive Voice Response which automates interactions with telephone callers.

Banks are increasingly turning to IVR to reduce the cost of services, inquiries and support calls. The system is enabled with input and responses to be gathered via spoken words with voice recognition.

The IVR solutions enable users to retrieve information from banks or are send information, requests and make queries. With the invention of IVR the practice of phone banking is increasing day by day because it helps in accessing the bank services from anywhere like Home, Office, Workplace or anywhere else.

The banks computers are connected with telephone (IVR is phone technology) and the telephone is linked with the modem. The customers are identified by a code word/keyword (in case of ATM it is PIN) after due identification of the callers a suitable reply or solution is sent on phone. With the help of phone banking the customers may get reply of their enquiries or services without going to bank.

IVR system also contains pre-recorded solutions. In case of Land Line the customer after dialing to the bank receives the guided instructions to proceed further like keying his/her account number. For identification six digit date of birth is also to be dialed.

IVR system provides number for availing the service. Each number pertains to different service. The customer has to press the number of desired service. Than IVR indicates further actions and following the same a customer can get the desired service.

Services provided through Phone banking are limited like:

• Asking for account balance,
• Status of a cheque deposited for collection,
• Request for cheque book or statement of account,
• Record stop payments, and
• Information on bank products.

Off course enquires relating to banking services are also attended.

In case of Mobile banking a set of text messages or SMS can be used. Bank balance, cheque status, status of loan applications can be obtained through this system. As already stated the banks send SMS on mobile to keep its customers informed about any type of transaction in their accounts.

It is under active consideration of RBI to provide mobile banking services for transfer of amounts also. It approved it would be within reach of everyone to transact banking business through mobile phones in near talkes.

PC Banking, y, Self Service Banking

The internet banking as known today has gone through many phases of development. In each phase it was known by different names. In its initial stage in early 80s it was known as Home Banking means the banking transactions that can be done while sitting at home. During contemporary period it was also known as Self Service banking.

Initially the customers were able to perform some routine banking functions at home for availing home banking services telephone or cable connections were required and transactions were performed with the help of a terminal, keyboard and a monitor (TV or PC).

With the help of this facility customers were able to access to bank services like inquiry of account balance, moving funds between accounts, payment of bills and buy/sell investments or securities. All this was done by the customers themselves on their own system while sitting home, office, or work place.

That is why it was also known as self service banking although everything was done online. It was than a luxury for the customers. In New York this services were started in 1981 by some banks. In the year of 1983 it was started in U.K. by Bank of stock land. But the facility at that time was limited some restricted areas and also to only some select class of customers.

But now the internet banking or online banking has changed the entire scenario of banking industry throughout the world. From luxury it has become necessity. Banks are no longer confined to branches only, it has become a world vide phenomena.

Internet Banking, Online Banking, E-Banking

In India now most of the banks have their own websites for the purpose of offering banking services on the internet. The Reserve Bank of India has also issued guidelines for internet banking which all the banks are required to follow. The multinational and private sector banks have been successful in setting up internet banking but some Public Sector banks had been lagging behind because of their inherent difficulties.

Most of the public sector banks have very large network of their branches and good number of them are located in far flung remote areas and they face lack of connectivity. These banks have very large base of customers and include illiterate customers also. Some are still following old dated and traditional type of application methods and are not flexible for change.

Providing infrastructure for starting internet banking to wide spread network of branches in one go may not be possible. But it is really credible that these banks have done much and are now near to a stage when all will be web enabled.

As per RBI planning the banks were to enabled for internet banking in three levels:

(i) The basic level service in which the bank’s websites disseminate information on different products and services to customers. It may receive and reply to customers’ queries through e- mails. It is also known as Information Only Service which provides general purpose information like interest rates, branch location, bank products and their features etc.

(ii) Simple transactional websites which allow customers to submit their instructions, applications for different services, and queries on their account balances. They do not permit any fund based transactions on their account. It is also known as Electronic Information Transfer system which provides specific information like account balances, transaction details, statement of account etc.

(iii) The third level of internet banking services offered by fully transactional websites which allow customers to operate on their accounts for transfer of funds, payments of different bills, subscribing to other products of the bank, and to transact purchase and sale of securities. It is also known as Fully Electronic Transactional System.

This system requires high degree of security controls as it comprises technology covering computerization, networking and security, inter-bank payment gateway and legal infrastructure.

One of the most convenient banking services provided by the majority of the banks and financial institutions is phone banking. It has made life easy as account holders can initiate transactions as well as complete some of the transactions from the convenience of their mobile phone. Customers can enjoy the flexibility of time with 24-hour phone banking service. The account holder can enquire about account balance, make bill payments, transfer funds to another account and do much more with phone banking facility.

Advantages of Phone Banking to the Bank

The cost of managing the transactions is reduced as the number of visits to a bank by an account holder is reduced. The account holder does not need to visit the branch for non-cash withdrawals frequently. There has, however, been a decline in the usage of phone banking services due to the introduction of Internet banking in the 2010s.

Advantages of Phone Banking to the Customer

Getting a banking transaction done is made easier for an account holder with the phone banking service. The phone banking facility gives the account holder flexibility to do any transaction from anywhere. It is most convenient for the users located in rural areas where the bank branch is far or not easily accessible. Phone banking is secured as well as a risk-free mode of banking. It can be used to make the utility bill payments, block the ATM card, fund transfer, open fixed deposit/recurring deposit etc. Also, account holders can use phone banking facility on any phone. It is not essential to have a smartphone to use phone banking services, unlike mobile banking.

How to Avail Phone Banking Facility?

It is important to register the mobile number with the bank to use the phone banking service. After phone banking registration, the account holder will be given a Customer Number for phone banking which can differ from the account number. After this, he/she will be given the password or will be required to set the desired password.

It is must to have the Customer User ID and password to get access to phone banking. Following are the ways which most of the banks follow for phone banking registration:

1. Phone Banking registration/password generation through Contact Centre

The customer can call the toll free number of the bank and choose the desired option in IVR. The customer will be asked to give important details such as ATM card number, PIN, mobile number, account number etc. A 6-digit password is sent on the registered number after completing the registration.

2. Phone Banking registration/password generation through ATM

Account holder can also visit the nearest ATM of the bank to get the phone banking registration done. He/she will be required to just swipe the ATM card, enter the ATM PIN and select the “Phone Banking Registration” option on the screen. Enter the registered mobile number to get the 6-digit password.

3. Phone Banking registration through Branch

The customer can visit the bank branch and submit the phone banking application to avail the service. A pre-printed kit will be provided by the bank, which will contain the 6-digit phone-banking password.

Above mentioned methods of phone banking registration can be common amongst banks. But, some of the steps or registration methods can differ from one bank to another.

Phone Banking Services

Following are the services that can be availed with phone banking facility:

• Get all the information related to the account such as account balance, or any transaction details, and even the account statement of the last six months on the mail.
• Request for cheque book online
• Stop payment of any cheque (Single and multiple)
• Initiate fund transfers to self-account as well to third-party account (with some limitations)
• Open a Fixed Deposit/Recurring Deposit
• Check Account Balance
• Enquire about loans
• Generate ATM PIN
• Access Credit Card details
• Get the interest certificate of home loan or education loan.
• Get the Deposit Interest Certificate
• Know TDS deductions and other information
• Update mobile information or mail ID

For the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector, identifying the right outsourced call center partner plays an important role across many fronts: delivering cost efficiencies; providing 24x7x365 customer service to the company’s patrons for a range of requirements; cross-selling and up-selling the portfolio of products and services for revenue generation; capitalizing on marketing opportunities outside of traditional geographic markets; offering targeted promotions for different audiences; and more. Invensis Technologies, an expert Call Center Outsourcing Services company, enables your banking, financial services or insurance organization to keep the lines of communication with your valued customers open all through the year and maximize their satisfaction with your business.

With the latest technology and experienced professionals, our multi-channel contact center provides robust and cost-effective support for inbound and outbound communication with customers through: voice support, live chat support, email management, IVR (self-service) and mobile SMS / text.

A call centre is a department or an office in which incoming and outgoing telephone calls from both new and existing customers are handled by a team of advisors, otherwise known as agents.

It is traditional for companies of a larger size to have call centres for the purposes of:

• Offering customers support
• Handling their queries
• Carrying out telemarketing
• Conducting market research

However, each of these functions has developed greatly in the past few years, which has led to the emergence of the contact centre.

Virtual Call Centres

While it’s traditional to think of advisors as working in a busy, crowded environments, call centres have become more flexible over time, not just in size but in set-up too.

Virtual contact centres consist of individual advisors working from home or smaller groups of advisors working in quieter branch offices.

This trend has led to the emergence of virtual call centres, which consist of individual advisors working from home or smaller groups of advisors working in quieter branch offices.

All of the homeworkers/branch officers use the same cloud technology, so they function as one big contact centre, but from multiple different locations.

Homeworking especially is becoming more popular throughout the industry, with benefits that include attracting a new demographic of advisors, providing a better work–life balance and increased productivity.

Why Are Call Centres Still So Valuable?

One of the new rules of customer service is that the best service is no service, and when you look at Amazon’s proposition, this idea gains momentum. So why do so many brands keep investing in the contact centre?

Fundamentally, call centres are valuable to companies because they provide a platform to customers where the company has the opportunity to enhance its image, resolve problems and to create a stronger customer base.

Call centres are valuable to companies because they provide a platform to customers where the company has the opportunity to enhance its image, resolve problems and to create a stronger customer base.

In addition to this, the data that call centres store is becoming increasingly valuable. Organisations are using this to personalise service and track each customer’s journey in order to be proactive and provide the best possible experience.

How Do Contact Centres Measure Performance?

There are certain metrics that can be used to measure the quality of your call centre function and level of customer service.

Call centre metrics are often broken down into three categories:

Historical – These give an indication of the historical demand of the call centre, which helps the team to better forecast, schedule and plan for the future.

E.g. Number of Calls Handled, Forecast Accuracy and Average Handling Time

Real-time – These give an insight into the current demand of the call centre, which enables better intraday management to cope with demand.

E.g. Service Level, Wait Time and Advisor Availability

Customer focused – These give an idea of the effectiveness of the customer–advisor interactions within the call centre, particularly in terms of quality.

E.g. Customer Satisfaction, Quality Scores and First Contact Resolution

What Technologies Do Call Centres Use?

Traditionally, call centres use a few technologies which are fundamental to their function. These include an ACD system, an IVR and headsets.

However, as customer service has grown to be a competitive differentiator between different organisations, more innovative technologies have begun to emerge.

Many of these technologies are designed on the premise on better supporting advisors to improve customer service. These include the knowledge base, smart desktops and screen pops.

Then there are technologies designed to reduce contact volumes to improve efficiency, these include workforce management (WFM) systems, chatbots and process automation.

But that’s not all. With the call centre’s role in the overall customer experience becoming ever greater, there are also technologies like speech analytics, customer feedback solutions and proactive messaging making their way into the industry.

The 10 Things to Know

While we have already discussed a number of basics, here are ten things that are really useful to know if you are considering a career in the call centre industry.

1. People Account for Around 70% of Operational Costs

This figure makes people a key asset of an organization. It is the people in the centre who have the real impact on the customer, even more so than the technology or processes.

Investing in the right people with the right training will provide the right results, but unfortunately many organizations do not view it like that.

Organizations often feel this way due to their view that, with their traditionally high turnover, advisors are not worth investing in. However, one of the key reasons individuals leave is because of lack of training or progression.

Not having the opportunities to progress is because call centre have very flat structures, with far more advisor roles than leader or manager positions.

Having said that, there are a number of other roles within the call centre. While these often require a specific skill, here are a few positions that you might not have heard about:

• Operations Manager
• Resource Planning Manager
• Customer Service Coach
• Quality Analyst
• Human Resources

2. People Are Challenging

Where there are large groups of people working together, management becomes trickier and you will get problems. Call centres have a reputation for high turnover and absenteeism.

These challenges make managing the centre especially difficult when you think that the managers have to forecast and plan their resources very tightly against predicted call volumes.

3. Monday Is Typically the Busiest Day of the Week

We have all had the weekend to sort our bills or decide on that holiday, so now we are back to our normal week, it’s time to pick up the phone and call the call centre. If you need to call a call centre, try to do it on any day but Monday!

Also, Monday contact volumes can be even higher if the call centre is shut at weekends. This, paired with the fact that contact centres often report absenteeism to be higher on Monday than any other day, can make Monday mornings in the call centre even more challenging.

4. More Customers Call Between 10am and 12pm Than at any Other Time!

Why? Typically because those calling have either got into work and are settled into their day, so will make their personal calls (managers usually go for meetings during this time so it is easier), or they have returned home after doing the school run and are getting on with the things they need to do.

As well as daily patterns, call centres have to be aware of general patterns in contact volumes at an hourly rate as well. In fact, as a lesser known principle is that 40% of the hourly calls are handled within the first 15 minutes of the hour.

5. Technology Does Not Always Fully Support the Advisor in Doing Their Job

There can be a lot of technology in a call centre, but for a variety of reasons it may not help the advisor to do their job effectively.

Each technology component may be built separately from the others, so, like a cake mixture, when all the ingredients come together it may not be perfect.

The key factor is to understand how the advisor will use the combination of systems to handle the customer enquiry. The easier it is for the advisor, the better the experience for both the advisor and the customer when queries need to be solved.

Fully integrated systems are often key to this, and over a fifth of call centres have now achieved this through using apps instead of hardware, made available through one cloud-based system.

6. Advisors Are the Voice and Ears of the Company

Advisors will talk to more customers in a day than most other people in the organization do in a year. They can tell you what is happening with customers, what is important to them and what competitors may be doing.

The best call centres use their advisors as a means of providing feedback to all parts of an organization.

With this being the case, advisors are an invaluable research tool and can provide a multitude of ideas on how to do things better or what will or will not work.

7. Call Centre Managers Do Not Have Crystal Balls

The demand on managers to reach service levels every day with all the constraints placed on them is probably what makes the role one of the most challenging.

For this reason, most managers spend their time firefighting existing situations and do not have time to raise their head above the parapet to plan for the future.

8. Team Leaders Drive Business Performance

The team leader role is critical, provided it involves what its name suggests and that is to lead the team of advisors that they are responsible for.

Team leaders should be present with their team in order to provide support and advice throughout their day. They must also be responsible for coaching and developing their team because it will be these advisors who deliver the service.

In terms of driving business value, as Orit Avital described in her article “How to Develop Team Leaders in the Contact Centre“, team leaders need to be prepared to:

• Have difficult conversations
• Treat each member of the team as an equal
• Create a team feedback loop
• Get to know each of the advisors in their teams personally

9. The Biggest Critics of Call Centres Are Often Within the Company

Call centres are an easy target to criticise, because most people have had a bad experience of one! Criticising the call centre and highlighting its failures will enable others to distract attention from their own performance!

Few understand the complexities of call centres and the issues that they have to manage, so it makes them a soft target.

More importantly, call centres may not have a senior sponsor and may be located remotely from the head office this makes them vulnerable and open to attack.

10. Call Centre Can Be a Great Place to Work

With a wide range of opportunities to fit many different circumstances, working in a call centre can be great as a first job to provide staff with experience or flexibility in the working hours that are needed to meet family or other commitments.

In addition, with more and more contact centres focusing on the advisor experience, improving culture and adding gamification, there is usually great camaraderie and friendship to be had.

A payment gateway is a merchant service provided by an e-commerce application service provider that authorizes credit card or direct payments processing for e-businesses, online retailers, bricks and clicks, or traditional brick and mortar. The payment gateway may be provided by a bank to its customers, but can be provided by a specialised financial service provider as a separate service, such as a payment service provider.

A payment gateway facilitates a payment transaction by the transfer of information between a payment portal (such as a website, mobile phone or interactive voice response service) and the front end processor or acquiring bank.

The definition of a payment gateway is the technology that captures and transfers payment data from the customer to the acquirer and then transfers the payment acceptance or decline back to the customer. A payment gateway validates the customer’s card details securely, ensures the funds are available and eventually enables merchants to get paid. It acts as an interface between a merchant’s website and its acquirer. It encrypts sensitive credit card details, ensuring that information is passed securely from the customer to the acquiring bank, via the merchant.

In other words, the payment gateway works as the middleman between your customer and the merchant, ensuring the transaction is carried out securely and promptly. An online payment gateway can simplify how merchants integrate the necessary software. As the middleman during the payment processing, the gateway manages the customer’s sensitive card details between the acquirer and the merchant.

Why do we need a payment gateway?

You may be thinking, why do you need a payment gateway if it’s only a middleman? Before we answer this question, we’ll take a step back and highlight that online payment is processed as a card-not-present transaction. The customer’s card cannot be physically swiped on a POS terminal, as you would normally do if you processed the payment in a brick-and-mortar shop. Therefore, you can only rely on the card information that the customer is entering on the payment page. But, how can you be sure that the card the customer is using is their card? In card-not-present transactions, the fraud risk is significantly higher, and this is where a payment gateway does its magic.

What would happen if you take the payment gateway out of the online payment flow? Fraudsters would have easier access to card data you process, exposing your business to fraud and chargebacks. On top of that, fraudsters would also find additional ways to initiate illegitimate transactions, leaving you even more exposed to fraud and damaging your brand reputation.

A payment gateway is the gatekeeper of your customer’s payment data. For online merchants, a payment gateway relays the information from you, the merchant, to the acquirer and the issuing bank using data encryption to keep unwanted threats away from the sensitive card data. Aside from fraud management, a payment gateway also protects merchants from expired cards, insufficient funds, closed accounts or exceeding credit limits.

Process

Now that you’ve understood why merchants need a payment gateway, let’s take a step further and analyse how a payment gateway works throughout the payment journey.

(i) The customer chooses the product or service they want to purchase and proceeds to the payment page. Most payment gateways offer you different options for your payment page. emerchantpay’s payment gateway offers you the below options for your payment page tailor-made for your business needs:

• Hosted payment page: A hosted payment page is an out-of-the-box payment page where customers are redirected when they are ready to checkout. The payment gateway securely receives the transaction data before it passes it to the acquirer. A hosted payment page reduces the PCI burden for online merchants if you don’t collect and/ or store the cardholder data on your server.
• Server-to-server integration: A server to server integration is also known as a direct integration as it enables communication between two servers; the merchant’s server with the payment gateway’s server. By requesting the card details on the payment page, a direct transaction can be initiated. Customers can finalise a card payment without being redirected to the payment page of the payment gateway, resulting in faster checkout, more consistent user experience and more control over the look and feel of the payment page from the merchant’s perspective. A server-to-server integration is suitable if you collect and/ or store the payment data before sending them to the payment gateway for processing.
• Client-side encryption: Client-side encryption, also known as encryption-at-source refers to encrypting sensitive on the client-side device before sending it to the merchant’s server. This enables the merchant to simplify your PCI compliance requirements. In a nutshell, it enables you to accept payments on your website while encrypting card data in your browser, using the payment gateway’s encryption library.

(ii) The customer enters their credit or debit card details on the payment page. These details include the cardholder’s name, card expiration date and CVV number (Card Verification Value). This information is securely passed onto your payment gateway, based on your integration (hosted payment page, server-to-server integration or client-side encryption).

(iii) The payment gateway tokenises or encrypts the card details and performs fraud checks before they send the card data to the acquiring bank.

(iv) The acquiring bank sends securely the information to the card schemes (Visa, Mastercard).

(v) The card schemes perform another layer of fraud check and then send the payment data to the issuing bank.

(vi) The issuing bank, after performing fraud screening, authorises the transaction. The approved or declined payment message is transferred back from the card schemes, then to the acquirer.

(vii) The acquiring bank sends the approval or decline message back to the payment gateway who then transmits the message to the merchant. If the payment is approved, the acquirer collects the payment amount from the issuing bank and holds the fund into your merchant account (more on that later on).

(viii) deposits the funds into the merchant’s account, a process which is known as the settlement; when the actual settlement will occur, depends on the agreement the merchant has with their payment gateway.

(ix) Based on the message, the merchant may either display a payment confirmation page or ask the customer to provide another payment method.

Bank Management

A bank is a financial institution which acknowledges deposits, pays interest on pre-defined rates, clears checks, makes loans, and regularly goes about as a go-between in financial transactions. It additionally gives other financial administrations to its customers.

Bank management oversees different concerns related with bank keeping in mind the end goal to boost benefits. The worries comprehensively incorporate liquidity management, asset management, liability management and capital management.

Origin of Banks

The origin of bank or banking exercises can be followed to the Roman empire amid the Babylonian time frame. It was being honed on a little scale when contrasted with advanced banking and edge work was not systematic.

Modern banks manage banking exercises on a bigger scale and keep the principles made by the legislature. The legislature assumes a pivotal part with its control over the banking system. This calls for bank management, which additionally guarantees quality administration to customers and a win-win circumstance between the customer, the banks and the government.

The Evolution of Banking in India

The advancement in the Indian banking system can be classified into three different phases:

• The pre-independence phase, i.e., before 1947
• After independence phase, i.e. from 1947 to 1991
• The LPG (1991) era and beyond, i.e. 1991 and beyond

1. The Pre-Independence Phase

This phase is categorized by the presence of a considerable number of banks in India. Nearly 600 banks were present in India.

The banking system started with the foundation of Bank of Hindustan in the then capital, Calcutta (present-day Kolkata) in 1770. The bank ceased its operations in 1832.

Post Bank of Hindustan, many other banks evolved such as the General Bank of India (1786-1791) and Oudh Commercial Bank (1881-1958), but they did not continue their operations for long.

Oudh Commercial Bank was the first commercial bank of India.

Some banks of the 19th century continue to operate even now establishing themselves as an institution of excellence. For example, Allahabad Bank was established in 1865, and Punjab National Bank was established in 1894.

Also, some banks such as Bank of Bengal (est. 1806), Bank of Bombay (est. 1840), Bank of Madras (est. 1843) were merged into one entity.

The new body was called Imperial Bank of India which was later renamed as the State Bank of India.

In the year 1935, the Reserve Bank of India was commissioned upon the recommendation of the Hilton Young Commission.

During this phase, due to the failure of the majority of small-sized banks, the confidence of the public was low, and people continued to engage with money lenders and unorganized players.

2. After independence Phase – 1947 to 1991

One of the main features of the period was the nationalization of the bank.

Why was Nationalization Needed?

• The banks primarily catered to large businesses
• Critical sectors such as agriculture, small-scale industries and exports were lagging
• The moneylenders exploited masses

Thus, in the year 1949, the Reserve Bank of India was nationalized. In two decades, fourteen commercial banks were nationalized in July 1969 during the reign of Smt. Indira Gandhi.

In 1975, based on the recommendation of the Narasimham committee, Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) were constituted with an objective of serving the unserved. The primary goal was to reach masses and promote financial inclusion.

Some other specialized banks were also set up to promote the activities that were required for the economy.

For example, NABARD was established in 1982 to support agriculture-related work. Similarly, EXIM bank was built in 1982 for export and import.

National Housing Bank was set up in 1988 for the Housing sector, and SIDBI was established in 1990 for small-scale industries.

Was Nationalization Successful?

Nationalization was a significant step in the banking sector, and it helped improve people’s confidence in the system.

Small and critical industries started getting access to capital that helped boost economic growth.

Additionally, the move added to the country’s growth across the global banking sector.

3. Third phase – The LPG (1991) Era and Beyond

1991 saw a remarkable change in the Indian economy.

The government opened up the economy and invited foreign and private investors to invest in India. This move marked the entry of private players in the banking sector.

The RBI provided banking license to ten private entities of which some of the notable ones survived such as ICICI, HDFC, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, and DCB.

In 1998, the Narsimham committee again recommended the entry of more private players. Thus, the RBI provided a license to Kotak Mahindra Bank in 2001 and Yes Bank in 2004.

Nearly after a decade, the third round of licensing took place. The RBI in 2013-14, allowed a license for IDFC bank and Bandhan Bank.

The story didn’t end here, with an aim to make sure that every Indian gets access to finance, the RBI introduced two new set of banks Payments bank and small banks, and this marked the fourth phase in the banking industry.

(i) Payments Bank

These banks are allowed to accept a nominal deposit (Rs. 1 lakh per currently).

These banks are not allowed to provide credit (both loans and credit cards), but can operate both current account and savings accounts.

Other services include ATM/debit cards, net-banking, and mobile banking. Bharti Airtel started first payments’ bank in India.

Following the six most active payments bank currently:

• Aditya Birla Payments Bank
• Airtel Payments Bank
• India Post Payments Bank
• Fino Payments Bank
• Jio Payments Bank
• Paytm Payments Bank

(ii) Small Finance Bank

These banks are niche banks, with basic banking service, which include acceptance of deposits and lending.

The primary objective is to serve the unserved, such as small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries, and unorganized sectors.

Following are the small finance bank currently operational in India:

• Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
• Jana Small Finance Bank
• Equitas Small Finance Bank
• AU Small Finance Bank
• Capital Small Finance Bank
• Fincare Small Finance Bank
• ESAF Small Finance Bank
• North East Small Finance Bank
• Suryoday Small Finance Bank
• Utkarsh Small Finance Bank

We believe rapid digitization in banks coupled with the new model of banking will continue to remain the key theme for the fourth and ongoing phase of the banking industry.

There has been a big revolution in the banking sector over the years and it is bound to evolve further. With various steps and new features that the banking industry is introducing, this sector will grow further.

Banking industry is a backbone of Indian financial system and it is afflicted by many challenging forces. One such force is revolution of information technology. In today’s era, technology support is very important for the successful functioning of the banking sector. Without IT and communication we cannot think about the success of banking industry, it has enlarged the role of banking sector in Indian economy. For creating an efficient banking system, which can respond adequately to the needs of growing economy, technology has a key role to play. In past 10 years, banks in India have invested heavily in the technology such as Tele banking, mobile banking, net banking, ATMs, credit cards, debit cards, electronic payment systems and data warehousing and data mining solutions, to bring improvements in quality of customer services and the fast processing of banking operation. Heavy investments in IT have been made by the banks in the expectation of improvement in their performance. But important in the performance depends upon, differences in the deployment, use and effectiveness of IT.

Information technology in banking sector refers to the use of sophisticated information and communication technologies together with computer science to enable banks to offer better services to its customers in a secure, reliable and affordable manner and sustain competitive advantage over other banks. The significance of technology is greatly felt in the financial sector in view of the competitive advantage for banks resulting in the efficient customer service.

In the development of Indian Economy, Banking sector plays a very important and crucial role. With the use of technology there had been an increase in penetration, productivity and efficiency. It has not only increased the cost effectiveness but also has helped in making small value transactions viable. Electronic delivery channels, ATMs, variety of cards, web based banking, and mobile banking are the names of few outcomes of the process of automation and computerization in Indian banking sector.

Transformation of Indian Banking

Indian banking has undergone a total transformation over the last decade. Moving seamlessly from a manual, scale-constrained environment to a technological leading position, it has been a miracle. Such a transformation takes place in such a short span of time with such a low cost.

Entry of technology in Indian banking industry can be traced back during the 1990s, the banking sector witnessed various liberalization measure. One of the major objectives of Indian banking sector reforms was to encourage operational self-sufficiency, flexibility and competition in the system and to increase the banking standards in India to the international best practises. With the ease of licensing norms, new private and foreign banks emerged-equipped with latest technology. Deregulation has opened up new opportunities to banks to increase revenues by diversifying into investment banking, insurance, credit cards, mortgage financing, depository services etc. The role of banking is redefined from a mere intermediary to service provider of various financial services under one roof acting like a financial supermarket.

Important events in evolution of Information Technology:-

• Introduction of MICR based cheque processing
• Arrival of card based payments
• Introduction of Electronic Clearing Services
• Introduction of RTGS/NEFT
• Introduction of Cheque Truncation System (CTS) or Image-based Clearing System (ICS)
• Introduction of Core Banking Solutions (CBS)
• Introduction of Automated Teller Machine (ATMs)
• Introduction of Phone and Tele Banking
• Introduction of Internet and Mobile Banking

Recent IT Trends of Indian banks

The banking industry is going through a period of rapid change to meet competition, challenges of technology and the demand of end user. Clearly technology is a key differentiator in the performance of banks. Banks need to look at innovation not just for product but for process also.

Today, technology is not only changing the environment but also the relationship with customers. Technology has not broken barriers but has also brought about superior products and channels. This has brought customer relationship into greater focus. It is also viewed as an instrument of cost reduction and effective communication with people and institutions associated with the banking business. The RBI has assigned priority to the up gradation of technological infrastructure in financial system. Technology has opened new products and services, new market and efficient delivery channels for banking industry. IT also provides the framework for banking industry to meet challenges in the present competitive environment. IT enables to cut the cost of global fund transfer.

Some of the recent IT devices described as below:

1. Electronic Payment and Settlement System

The most common media of receipts and payment through banks are negotiable instruments like cheques. These instruments could be used in place of cash. The inter bank cheques could be realized through clearing house systems. Initially there was a manual system of clearing but the growing volume of banking transaction emerged into the necessity of automating the clearing process.

2. Use of MICR Technology

MICR overcomes the limitation of clearing the cheques within banking hours and thus enables the customer to get the credit quickly. These are machine – readable codes added at the bottom of every cheque leaf which helped in bank and branch-wise sorting of cheques for smooth delivery to the respective banks on whom they are drawn. This no doubt helped in speeding up the clearing process, but physical delivery of cheques continued even under this partial automation.

3. CTS (Cheque Truncation System)

Truncation means stopping the flow of the physical cheques issued by a drawer to the drawee branch. The physical instrument is truncated at some point on route to the drawee branch and an electronic image of the cheque is sent to the drawee branch along with the relevant information like the MICR fields, date of presentation, presenting banks etc. This would eliminate the need to move the physical instruments across branches, except in exceptional circumstances, resulting in an effective reduction in the time required for payment of cheques, the associated cost of transit and delays in processing etc., thus speeding up the process of collection or realization of cheques.

4. Electronic Clearing Services (ECS)

The ECS was the first version of “Electronic Payments” in India. It is a mode of electronic funds transfer from one bank account to another bank account using the mechanism of clearing house. It is very useful in case of bulk transfers from one account to many accounts or vice-versa. The beneficiary has to maintain an account with the one of the bank at ECS Centre.

There are two types of ECS (Electronic Clearing Service)

• ECS Credit: ECS Credit clearing operates on the principle of ‘single debit multiple credits’ and is used for transactions like payment of salary, dividend, pension, interest etc.
• ECS Debit: ECS Debit clearing service operates on the principle of ‘single credit multiple debits’ and is used by utility service providers for collection of electricity bills, telephone bills and other charges and also by banks for collections of principle and interest repayments.

5. Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT)

EFT was a nationwide retail electronic funds transfer mechanism between the networked branches of banks. NEFT provided for integration with the Structured Financial Messaging Solution (SFMS) of the Indian Financial Network (INFINET). The NEFT uses SFMS for EFT message creation and transmission from the branch to the bank’s gateway and to the NEFT Centre, thereby considerably enhancing the security in the transfer of funds.

6. Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS)

RTGS system is a funds transfer mechanism where transfer of money takes place from one bank to another on a ‘real time’ and on ‘gross basis’. This is the fastest possible money transfer system through the banking channel. Settlement in ‘real time’ means payment transaction is not subjected to any waiting period. The transactions are settled as soon as they are processed. “Gross settlement” means the transaction is settled on one to one basis without bunching with any other transaction.

7. Core Banking Solutions (CBS)

Computerization of bank branches had started with installation of simple computers to automate the functioning of branches, especially at high traffic branches. Core Banking Solutions is the networking of the branches of a bank, so as to enable the customers to operate their accounts from any bank branch, regardless of which branch he opened the account with. The networking of branches under CBS enables centralized data management and aids in the implementation of internet and mobile banking. Besides, CBS helps in bringing the complete operations of banks under a single technological platform.

8. Development of Distribution Channels

The major and upcoming channels of distribution in the banking industry, besides branches are ATMs, internet banking, mobile and telephone banking and card based delivery systems.

9. Automated Teller Machine (ATM)

ATMs are perhaps most revolutionary aspect of virtual banking. The facility to use ATM is provided through plastic cards with magnetic strip containing information about the customer as well as the bank. In today’s world ATM are the most useful tool to ensure the concept of “Any Time Banking” and “Any Where Banking”.

10. Phone Banking

Customers can now dial up the banks designed telephone number and he by dialling his ID number will be able to get connectivity to bank’s designated computer. By using Automatic voice recorder (AVR) for simple queries and transactions and manned phone terminals for complicated queries and transactions, the customer can actually do entire non-cash relating banking on telephone: Anywhere, Anytime.

11. Tele Banking

It is another innovation, which provided the facility of 24 hour banking to the customer. Tele-banking is based on the voice processing facility available on bank computers. The caller usually a customer calls the bank anytime and can enquire balance in his account or other transaction history.

12. Internet Banking

Internet banking enables a customer to do banking transactions through the bank’s website on the internet. It is system of accessing accounts and general information on bank products and services through a computer while sitting in its office or home. This is also called virtual banking.

13. Mobile Banking

Mobile banking facility is an extension of internet banking. Mobile banking is a service provided by a bank or other financial institution that allows its customers to conduct financial transactions remotely using a mobile device. Unlike the related internet banking it uses software, usually called an App, provided by the financial institution for the purpose. Mobile banking is usually available on a 24 hour basis. Some financial institutions have restrictions on which accounts may be accessed through mobile banking, as well as a limit on the amount that can be transacted. Transactions through mobile banking may include obtaining account balances and lists of latest transactions, electronic bill payments, and fund transfers between a customer’s or another’s accounts.

Conclusion

Information Technology offers enormous potential and various opportunities to the Indian Banking sector. It provides cost-effective, rapid and systematic provision of services to the customer. The efficient use of technology has facilitated accurate and timely management of the increased transaction volumes of banks which comes with larger customer base. Indian banking industry is greatly benefiting from IT revolution all over the world.

Another concept i.e Virtual Banking or Direct Banking is now gaining importance all over the world. According to this concept Banks offer products, services and financial transaction only through electronic delivery channels generally without any physical branch. Owing to lower branch maintenance and manpower cost such banks are able to offer competitive pricing for their product and services as compared to traditional banks.

The Indian banks lag far behind the international banks in providing online banking. In fact, this is not possible without creating sufficient infrastructure or presence of sufficient number of users. Technology is going to hold the keys to future of banking. So banks should try to find out the trigger of change. Indian Banks need to focus on swift and continued infusion of technology.