The formal commencement of banking in Pakistan for the first time took place during British colonization in South Asia. Since that time on, banking trends in Pakistan have been growing and increasing extensively. The establishment of online transactions in the world of banking has paved way for the advancement of the banking system in Pakistan which allows customers to carry out financial transactions on a more secure level; financial transactions are conducted by the customers on safe website retail/ virtual bank or credit union. A great number of banks in Pakistan have now progressed from waiting in queues to the facility of online transaction for its customers. Internet banking transactions have continued to expand and demonstrated a rising trend in Pakistan especially during the last quarter of year 2008-09, the fiscal year.During the course of time, there have been introduced several delivery channels of online banking which greatly contribute to the rising trends of e-banking in pakistan.
Tele-banking was introduced in the 1970s in the US and other developed regions. This facility is now available is Pakistan also. It is in reach of corporate customers that have hefty amounts of payments to set out of a well automated accounting system. They are able to establish a computer to computer linkage with their bank while sitting at home/office. Through this, they are able to exchange paperless credit transfer which is handled directly from the originator to the recipient’s account without any hassle or commuting involved. ATM, ‘’Automatic Teller Machine’’, the system also known as ‘’ Any Time Money’’ allows nationwide customers who have an ATM card to withdraw money on their very own without having to deal with anyone, at whatever time they please. ATM units can be easily installed everywhere; like petrol stations, market places, railway stations etc. the customers have the privilege to make transactions with their bank 24/7 throughout the year. Advancement in the system now enables the customers to transfer money to and from accounts and also to view account information, to deposit or receive cash and to order cheques also.
Another offshoot of online banking is the credit card which is paid through post. A credit card customer needs not to carry papermoney and is authorized to spend at his own will just with the swipe of this one card within the limits prescribed by his bank. There is also a prepaid card known as a debit card which has some stored value. The debit card comes with a (PIN) personal identification number. On purchase, he is required to enter this PIN number on the shop’s PIN pad. Once the card is swiped through the electronic terminal, it validates the given PIN and waits for a confirmation from the bank whether to allow or to refuse the transaction requested. This reduces the chance for a customer to over-spend. However, the chief limitation of debit cards is that only debit-card approved shops nationwide accept it. Furthermore, CBT, corporate banking terminal and POS point of sale terminal add to the rosining trends of online banking in the Pakistan. Through CBT, large corporate clients can log on to the bank’s system database and access to their accounts from their offices/ business homes. However, this facility has still not been introduced for common customers.
Tips and comments:
The Online banking is gaining fast grounds and rapidly increasing in Pakistan. The Information Technology department has launched gigantic new avenues for the developing nations such as Pakistan to make use of the creative intellect of their shining youth for the country’s national development. Furthermore, Some software houses have also extended an offer to launch network-banking facilities. In 1994, there were a number of hundred thousand pages over the internet, and now in 2011 there are more than a billion pages and it is a progressive process with a rate of over a million new pages in one day.
