In today’s generation, it is undeniably true that it is compulsory for everyone; young or old, to own themselves a mobile device or computer on hand. We are, in fact, utilizing most of the technologies that we possessed for our own good, in any given circumstances. The use for conventional transactional payment such as cash transaction were also slowly replaced by the existence of e-banking services, on which its services are available for users who possessed these said electronic devices. However, do we truly understand what is “e-banking”? Or are we actually using “e-banking” without truly diving deep into its fullest potential? In that case, let us educate ourselves to the “world of e-banking”.
According to Britannica (2016), ‘Electronic Banking’, or better known as e-banking, is the application or usage of any electronic devices that are connected to the Internet that enables users to perform any banking payment online. Compared to the physical form of banking transaction, e-banking does not require any human interaction to receive or transferring money from one person to another. E-banking services ranges from the users making payment through the Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) from any bank branches, money transferring process for any purchases in convenient stores or supermarkets or any transaction that has been performed by users through their respective bank online account, in the comfort of their own home. Now that we have grasped the basic idea of what e-banking is referring to, transferring money do seems like an easy task to perform nowadays. Then, of course it is also possible to hand one person’s money to another by face-to-face interaction. But, have you ever thought of the possibilities if e-banking services somehow never existed and was never written in the history of our life? To illustrate, imagine if an individual is having trouble financially and needed financial support from his family, is it truly efficient for his family to flew over in the country he is currently residing just to send over a couple of bucks to help him out? The answer is no. With the technology of e-banking services such as instant transferring money via online, the sum of money an individual needed can be magically transferred to his online bank account from his family. To steer things more interesting, let us briefly look at the history of e-banking.
As we may have acknowledged, e-banking has served its purpose well for many people all around the globe since the start of its existence. Wood (2014) in her article mentioned Stanford Federal Credit Union, a credit union that is federally chartered and based in Palo Alto, California, has become the first financial institution in the U.S. to provide most of their clients’ services for online banking in October 1994. On October 6, 1995, nearly a year later, Presidential Bank became the country’s first bank to provide their customers access to their own respective online accounts. This evolutional service progress was soon pursued by most other banks. The idea of “online banking services” were often used to make many users felt threatened and scared due to its safety control and many were convinced that they are not fully utilizing this service as they do not know on how to use its services. However, when the existence of e-commerce is starting to bloom, everyone is no longer shallow minded and eventually opens up to the idea of utilizing e-banking services. As a matter of fact, from an analysis that has been made, 80 percent of banking facilities in United States are starting to introduce their clients to banking services in the year of 2000. Meanwhile, a shocking number of users that are using these banking services has made the history for the first financial facility, which is Bank of America in United States for reaching more than 3 million online banking clients (Woods, 2014).
It is definitely an eye-opening fact that e-banking has been around for almost a decade now, as it is still one of the vital functionality tools that we use in our daily life, especially in the state of our global pandemic that has been affecting everyone all around the globe. As French (2021) suggested, the Corona Virus Pandemic has been affecting many people all around the globe and the usage of cash payment for face-to-face transaction is considered as risky as it might spread the virus through touches from one person that handles or receiving the cash to another. Hence, this is where merchant all around the world highlighted on the usage for “cashless transaction”. The use of payments without any form of physical touches since the start of 2020 up until March of 2020 has been claimed to further increase for more than 40 percent according to a questionnaire held by Mastercard (French 2021). Online shopping has become a new norm for everyone across the globe, and e-banking and any form of online transaction methods were often utilized nowadays in order for buyers to get their goods.
E-banking services are also available across the globe, and this means Southeast Asian country such as Malaysia is definitely not excluded from the development of e-banking services. Banking facilities are vital to the people of Malaysia as it is widely used by so many of its growing population. E-commerce is also widely operated in Malaysia, and certainly due to the fact of increasing demand on goods from its population, which goods ranges from foods, everyday necessities, clothes and machineries. E-banking services are available for banking facilities in Malaysia such as Maybank, CIMB Bank, Public Bank Berhad, RHB Bank, Hong Leong Bank, Bank Simpanan Malaysia (BSN), Agrobank and various other (Fortune.my 2014). And of course, with the many options of banking facilities that are available in Malaysia, every client in Malaysia is free to choose on what banking facilities they wish to open an online banking account with!
Internet banking services in Malaysia was commenced way back in the year of 2000, on the first on June. During this time, Malaysian Central Bank has provided the first legitimate structure or framework for commercial bank that were owned locally in Malaysia to offer Internet banking services. Meanwhile bank that were not locally owned were all prohibited in participating Internet banking services until January 1 of 2002. Maybank, which is considered Malaysia’s number one online banking site, established a website which is widely known as Maybank2U (www.maybank2U.com) in the year of 2000, June 15 (T. Ramayah et al. 2003). The head group of community financial services for Maybank, Datuk Lim Hong Tat claimed that the users that signed up and registered with Maybank2U has been rapidly and consistently expanding. They are also currently expecting bigger percentage for this growth of registered users for Maybank2U (Toh 2018).
Goh (2020) in his article noted the recent fluctuating number of users who engaged themselves in internet banking services in 2020 and an analysis data from Bank Negara Malaysia also further proves the pace of individuals utilizing internet banking service are much rapid after the Covid-19 quarantine period. Maybank2U (www.Maybank2U.com), being the famous e-banking service in Malaysia, is always ahead of its game and ensure consumers can utilize its banking website with its full satisfactory online banking services. One of the most prominent features that Maybank2U offers is the fact that the application itself can be used and downloaded freely on multiple electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablets or computers, as the application itself is available for mobile devices to download for both Android and IOS system. For Malaysians, we consider ourself lucky as we are able to get the taste of these sweet technology development and how considerate banking facilities such as Maybank that are always equipping their customers with great online banking services.
On Maybank2U’s official website, they clearly prioritized on keeping everyone safe during this pandemic state and encourage clients to stay at home and ensure that their registered users still can perform online transaction without the need to go to an official branch. Payments for bills or taxes can be easily made once a user is registered with Maybank2U. Moreover, the usage of ATM machines for transferring money and Cash Deposit Machine (CDM) that enable users to deposit cash directly into one’s bank account can be substituted, if needed to, with the aid of Maybank2U online banking services. With the option to link one’s Maybank account with any application that is equipped with e-wallet, such as ‘GrabPay’, ‘ShopeePay’ and ‘Lazada Wallet’, users are now able to make transactions and “top-up” their respective chosen medium of application with said e-wallet through the use of a “secured link”, all of these can be performed without the trouble for users to authenticate themselves by inserting Transaction Authorisation Code (TAC) time and time again in certain online transaction process. Maybank2U’s Maybank Wealth App also help registered users to update with their finances in every place and at any time, further ensuring users to be in the forefront and acquire proprietary industry knowledge with the aid of Maybank’s in-house financial reports and analysis. Furthermore, small seller or large enterprise business owners can benefit from Maybank’s Maybank2U Pay that allows merchants to perform easier and more efficient online payment for buyers on merchant’s business websites by deducting the savings or current account of buyer’s Maybank account. This feature also allows customers to perform online payment for their bills by deducting from customer’s savings or current account, or even credits cards that were locally issued by Maybank itself and other financial organizations.
Moreover, registered users who enjoy playing game as their leisure activity can also reload their favourite game credits with Maybank2U website and application provided. This goes the same for mobile phone bills and top up prepaid cards that can be easily accessed and purchased via Maybank2U’s website, allowing customer to top up reloads for their own Telco and funds will be debited from customers’ savings or current account, allowing customers to rapidly top up their own mobile number or help anyone who is in need to urgently use this service without going to any convenient stores. Besides transferring funds to another party, Maybank2U also allows registered users to perform e-Fixed Deposit (eFD), which is a receipt less type of transaction for Fixed Deposit (FD) that can be performed via Maybank2U.com. With this innovative idea, no receipt is used as it claimed to be, however, an 8 digit-reference number with an ending of the alphabet ‘E’ will shows users that the process of Fixed Deposit has been processed and started on the website. This type of financial instrument by Maybank is eligible for both conventional and Islamic accounts.
In conclusion, it is undoubtedly true that living in today’s generation of technologized culture require e-services as most of the activities we perform in our daily task are digitalized and much more advanced than the industrial form of services that comes before the pioneer of e-services. Online banking or e-banking became a necessity for banking services as well as offering consumers many of its benefits due to how convenient and efficient it is for the initiation process. It is hoped that financial services in this form will continue to evolve so it can further help us to adapt and assist both its customers and the future of financial facilities in this ever-changing world we are residing in.
By Vanissa Avilla Saimon
