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The Herald, March

16 2000

Metropolitan Bank of Zimbabwe scored a first last night by launching a telephone banking system allowing a client’s banking transaction to be done on the telephone.

Metropolitan Bank opened its doors last year in January and is the second bank in Africa after one in South Africa to offer telephone banking.

The general manager of the bank, Mr Lovemore Mango, said it is an interactive voice response system to customer inquiries and is available round the clock.

Customers could have access to facilities such as paying of bills, funds transfers, balance enquiries, request of statements and foreign exchange rates.

The bank now had standing arrangements with some key service providers such as Zesa, PTC, City of Harare and NetOne for their clients to settle their bills through Metline.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

Twenty years on, convenience in banking remains critical.

Technological advancements have seen the rise of convenience in banking necessitating even Internet banking.

Conventional banking has always been slow and time-consuming, and sometimes, you may need to wait several hours to process a simple transaction like clearing a cheque. But Internet or online banking has tremendously reduced the time required to process banking transactions, making them faster and more convenient.

Internet banking removes the traditional geographical barriers as it could reach out to customers of different locations.

Complex encryption software is used to protect the account information, there are no perfect systems, so the accounts are prone to hacking, malware  and illegal activities.

Identity theft is a significant concern, but some online banks take this risk more seriously than others, before opening an online account, thoroughly investigate the bank’s security policies and protections to ensure they meet your expectations.

Security is the biggest concern surrounding Internet banks, with the consumers worrying that hackers will get into their account and spend their money.