E-BANKING IN NIGERIA

e-Banking in Nigeria

e-Banking in Nigeria

Introduction

Since the advent of computers in the early 20th century, and their application to various businesses, there has been significant and unarguable increase in man s efficiency and productivity. This translated to increased productivity in the businesses in which computers were used. So, like we had an Industrial revolution in the nineteenth century, computer technology sparked up an Information revolution in the twentieth (20th) century, a revolution that brought the world to the Information and knowledge based economics in its track. Hence IT can be defined as one of the driving forces of globalization (Somuyiwa et al, 2006).

The processing of loans by banks used to be a tedious job, as it involved lots of paperwork. In recent times however the adoption of IT has allowed for the use of workflow management systems application software, which has contributed greatly to the automation of loan processes, thereby allowing loan officers to manage, prioritize, and measure new mortgage software files and documents create also a situation where multiple users can perform parallel activities on the same loan application, making it easy to divide work between the loan processing team. IT also allows for a situation where the repayment schedule of loans could be applied without interference (Aigbiremolen, and Aigbiremolen, 2004). Vohra et al. (2002) argue that successful financial institutions must be able to make rapid, accurate, and successful credit decisions. To do this, view, such institutions must embrace technology. This argument clearly underpins the relevance of IT to the processing of loans.

Significance of the Study

According to Awe (2007), the most visible face of e-banking in Nigeria has been the transformation of retail banking through ATMs. This according to Awe (2007) was a direct consequence of the broad guidelines issued in 2004 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on ebanking. This clearly demonstrates the importance of the subject under study. The use of ICT in the banking sector is of interest to this study because of the significant role banks play in Nigeria and indeed the world economy. Banks stimulate economic growth by directing funds to economic agents that need them for productive activities.

Research Questions

In connection to the subject of this study, this research will attempt to answer the following questions:

What is the importance of e-banking?

To what extent e-banking is used in Nigeria?

What is the prospect of e-banking growth in Nigeria?

Literature Review

According to Awe (2007), the most visible face of e-banking in Nigeria has been the transformation of retail banking through ATMs. This according to Awe (2007) was a direct consequence of the broad guidelines issued in 2004 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on ebanking. Prior to 2004, there were just forty-one ATMs in the whole country (CBN, 2005); in the post-consolidation era however the number has increased to thousand as a result of competition amongst the twenty five commercial banks. ATM provides for the customers twenty-four hour a day service, seven days a week; which is deal for workers who work irregular ...