Standard Bank this week launched its upgraded Internet banking site aimed at improving the experience for clients, but the ongoing Absa fraud saga still places a damper on a critical banking service.
The Standard Bank site has a new look and feel, and now caters for the visually impaired as it is compatible with software used by them to navigate the Internet. Using voice tags that interface with programs such as Jaws or Windows Eyes, the system now enables the visually impaired to navigate the site. Response times have also been substantially reduced, taking an average of 10 seconds to log in, compared to 30 seconds on the old site.
"We have improved the back-end coding as new technology has helped us to do more with less," says Louis Blom, head of Standard Bank Internet banking.
Standard Bank was the first of the big four commercial banks to introduce free firewall and anti-virus software plus a pin-pad for its clients following the news that rival Absa had several client accounts compromised through identity theft.
"While we have seen an increase in the number of people using our Internet banking services since the Absa case, it has not been a fast uptake and this indicates that people may still be nervous," Blom says.
He says the Standard Bank security upgrades are in line with Microsoft's privacy and security policy that was released on 10 September.
"Microsoft has recommended three steps - an anti-virus software, secure identification and a firewall - all of which we have."
Blom says customers' response to the new site has been extremely positive, with a marked increase in traffic since its official launch on Tuesday.
"Usually we see most of the traffic occurring on a Monday and then it decreases later into the week. However, with the new site we are still seeing high volumes of traffic late into the week," Blom says.
Competition in the Internet banking industry is set to increase, as 20Twenty will begin actively marketing to customers in the first quarter of next year. The bank was under curatorship for around 18 months following the bankruptcy of its parent Saambou and is now owned by Standard Chartered, one of the world's largest banks.
"The Internet banking industry will be the new battleground of the retail banking sector and the existing commercial banks have to brace themselves for the entry of a heavy-hitter in the form of Standard Chartered," says a banking analyst at a local stockbroking firm.
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