CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Banking has come a long way from the time of ledger cards and other
manual filing systems. Most banks today have electronics systems to handle
their daily voluminous task of information retrieval storage and processing.
Three or four decades ago, banking was a simple business;customers saved
their money with banks and received their financial
services from banks. When customers open account they received
passbook from the banks with which the account would be operated and
when it is a current account, they received cheque books for the same purpose.
Banking industry of the 21st century operates in a complex and
competitive environment characterized by these changing conditions and
highly unpredictable economic climate. Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) is at the centre of this global change curve
of electronic banking system in Nigeria today (stevens; 2002) asserts that
they have over the time been using electronic and
telecommunication networks delivering a wide range of
value added
products and services. Managers in banking industry of
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Nigeria cannot ignore information systems because they
play a critical impact in current banking system. They point
out that the entire cash flow of most fortune banks are linked
to information systems.
Today, the banking industry has moved into an era of
menu- driven ultra robust specialized software programmes
called banking applications. These applications can carry out
virtually all banking functions relying heavily on information
collections, storage, and transfer and processing (ovia, 2008).
The 21st century advancement in technology has played an
important role in improving service delivery standards in
banking industry. In its simplest form, Automated teller
machines (ATMs) and deposits machines now allow customers
carryout banking transactions beyond banking hours.
With online bank, individuals can check their account
balances
and make payments without having to go the bank hall.
This is
gradually creating a society where customers no longer pay
for all their purchases with hard cash. For instance bank
customer can pay airline ticket and subscribe to initial public
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offerings by transferring the money directly from their account
balances by electronics transfer of credit to the seller’s
account. As most people now own mobile phone, banks have
also introduced mobile banking to cater for customers who are
always on the move. Mobile banking allows individuals to check
their account balances and make fund transfer using mobile
phones. E-banking has made banking transactions easier around
the world and it is fast gaining acceptance in Nigeria. The
delivery channels today in Nigeria electronic banking are quite
numerous as it is mentioned here, Automated teller machine
(ATM), point of sale (POS), Telephone banking, smart cards,
internet banking etc. Personal computer in the banking
industry was first introduced into Nigeria by society general
bank as the popular PC. Easy access to the internet and the
World Wide Web (WWW) is generally part of electronic
banking. The delivery products by banks on public domain is
an indication of advertisement which is known as electronic
commerce which involves the transfer of information across
the internet between individuals and business
organizations using electronic media.
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It is on the basis of these developments in banking industry that
the study seeks to empirically examiner the impact of electronic
banking on bank performance.
Historically first bank of Nigeria PLC was established in 1894
and has itself as a leading banking institution and major
contributor to economic advancement and development in
Nigeria. The bank has 536 branches across the nation.
At inception the bank was incorporated as a limited company
under the name; Bank of British West Africa (BBWA), with the
head office originally in Liverpool. The bank was restructured in
1957 and the name changed to Bank of West Africa (BWA). In
1966 the bank
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