Management Perceptions of Internet-Based Banking Services in Nigerian Commercial Banks

Abstract This study investigates management perceptions of internet-based banking services with special references to commercial banks in Nigeria. There was a significant difference between male and female management perceptions of internet-based banking services; management had significant positive rather than negative perception of Internet-based banking services; there was a significant difference between strategic and tactical management perceptions of Internet-based banking services. Gender age, work experience, management cadre and computer experience /training strongly influenced the management perceptions of Internet-based banking services in the Nigerian commercial banking system. Suggestions are proffered on how to further enhance management's positive perceptions of the Internet-based banking services in Nigerian commercial banks. Introduction In recent years, banks in Nigeria have increasingly depended on the development of information and communication technology (ICT). In service organisations like banks, information flows to a greater extent than physical items. In the commercial world today, especially in the most advanced countries, money is carried in information storage medium such as cheques, credit cards, and electronic means rather than in its pure cash form. Salawu and Salawu (2007) state that banks have augmented their distribution networks with transactional websites, which allow customers to open accounts, apply for loans, check balances and transfer funds over the internet. Today, all commercial banks in Nigeria do business using the internet. The fact is that the days of carrying large amount of cash and travelling from one state to the other is totally history now. Even the most traditional old generation banks that resisted the introduction of automated teller machines (ATM), electronic banking (?-Banking), mobile telephony, standard computer networks and internet in the past have now introduced all these technologies. The exodus of customers to the New Generation banks that are technology inclined caused this. Customers' taste and desire have begun to raise the stakes of expectation of exceptional services. Customers want to transact their banking transactions at any time and location convenient for their life-style. They want to pay their regular bills, buy and sell stocks etc. Oghenerukeybe (2009) concurs that the internet is the medium for an escalating amount of business and other sensitive transactions, including online banking and ecommerce. However, she cautions of the ills of using the internet to do business like banking. As customers increasingly rely on the Internet for business, personal finance, and investment, internet fraud becomes a greater threat. Internet fraud takes many forms, from phoney items offered for sale to scams that promise customers great riches if assistance can be given to foreign financial transaction through the customer's own bank account. Commercial banking in the modern day Nigerian financial sector is more or less a supermarket with a wide spectrum of services. These services include among others: normal banking functions such as acceptances, loans and advances, certificate of deposit, equipment leasing, project finance, letters of credit and documentary collections, syndications, indemnity, bond and guarantee and corporate services such as financial advisory services, company flotations, stock exchange services, company reconstructions, project management, foreign investment, mergers and acquisitions, portfolio management, debentures and other securities. However, for the commercial banks to survive in a deregulated economy such as Nigeria's where there is keen competition amongst the financial firms and a high degree of business risk, there is a need to make use of the opportunities offered by the internet to provide value-added services to their customers. Ovia (1998) opined that the Internet provides great opportunities for banks to advertise their various products and services to the entire world at a reduced cost. …