European banks have found that a loss of personal contact resulting from Internet banking has increased customer churn.
Speaking at the BMI-T/IDC African Banking Forum in Midrand yesterday, Luisa Bordoni, IDC Europe, Middle East and Africa vice-president, said banks are realising there is a need for some personal interaction with customers.
Many banks are rethinking their channel mix and trying to revise their channels in line with their more profitable products.
IDC, an international research firm, predicts that IT spending by European banks is likely to grow only 2.4% overall next year. Much of that will be on moves to outsource non-core functions.
It says spending on IT hardware is expected to decline markedly, while the areas of growth will be in packaged software, IT consulting, support services, ATMs, implementation, networking and training.
However, IT spending is expected to grow more sharply in the following few years, particularly as banks undertake projects related to the New Basel Capital Accord and the new International Accounting Standards.
The report says that overall, however, major business pressures will polarise IT budgets towards selected areas.
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