Bank of Ireland Upgrades 365 Online

I invite you to check today's article on finextra.


Bank of Ireland (BoI) has added a range of new functions to its Internet banking service, 365 Online, following a EUR10 million investment in the site.

Please find below the new features BoI added to 365online.com:
* Register new beneficiaries for domestic and international payments
* Make international payments to over 40 countries worldwide
* Top up mobile phones
* Set up, cancel and amend standing orders

I believe the international payments feature is going to be very popular.

In his press coverage Brendan Nevin, Director Strategy & Marketing, says that the main reason that customers don't use internet banking is because they think it is too complicated to use.  I believe Online Security is at least as important if not more important.

And even though I welcome the fact that BoI launched two tutorials in Chinese and Polish, I doubt this will have a big impact and dramatically increase online banking usage. Unless BoI heavily market that new "feature" in branches, by direct mail and online.
Providing two new interfaces in Chinese and Polish would probably be more efficient.


An industry goal: drive more customers online
This initiative demonstrates how important it is for banks to urge their customer to go online and switch to the cost effective Internet Channel. Banks are prepared to spend big budgets: the more people register and use the service, the less traffic to call centers or branches. 
Moreover, you will drive online sales thanks to targeted advertising, shorter application processes with pre-populated forms, and better conversion rates.
 
Most banks in the uk are busy working on the next generation of their online banking service.
Currently, most current online banking services are based on old legacy systems, rigid and not content managed. It is complicated to make any changes within the secure website. Even minor changes (like updating some static text) must be prioritized and can take up to 6, 9 or 12 months to be completed.

The leading banks are usually more ambitious and they are working on projects to make the online banking service "more web 2.0", more user centric and more interactive.
Their goal is to blur the line between the public website and the secure website. Their goal is to have a flexible, content managed, platform which the customer experience, the marketing, or the sales teams can modify quickly and easily.

I believe working on the next generation of online banking is also the perfect oppotunity to provide new services requested by clients such as being able to make international payments online, change your contact details, set up the level of security on your account, or have access to better personal finance management features.