Banking on the Net......

Wireless banking is common but having wireless banking within a bank branch is a unique set up

YES BANK has deployed wireless technology to successfully implement its business strategy. The Bank aims to provide a product platform that would deliver solutions that take into account present and future needs of the customers. In an Interview with Deccan Herald H Srikrishnan, Executive Director, YES BANK said the launch of Wi-fi has been instrumental in driving customer satisfaction and Intel provided the technology assistance to YES BANK to fine tune its requirements.Excerpts from the interview:

How many of your branches are using Wi-fi currently? And how many will go Wi-fi in future?
YES BANK currently has 18 branches that are Wi-fi deployed, and in total, we will have 21 branches that will be Wi-fi enabled in Phase 1.

How secure is the Wi-fi environment? What about hackers?
There are multiple layers of security that has been deployed as part of the Wi-fi solution - Service Set Identifier (SSID) broadcast has been disabled to ensure that unauthorised devices scanning for Wi-fi networks are not aware of the YBL Corp network. Mac address filtering has been deployed to ensure that devices with authorised Mac address only can initiate session with Wi-fi . Users connecting to YBL's Wi-fi network are authenticating against Active Directory. To ensure data confidentiality, data is encrypted using Wi-fi protected access (WPA) and Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP), to provide an enhanced encryption of data packets.

Has efficiency and productivity increased because of wi-fi environment?
Employees are now serving the customer more efficiently and in a comfortable environment, without being confined to the fixed workspace within the branch. This has achieved greater level of productivity and customer satisfaction.

What about the less tech savy are they comfortable with this environment?
There have been no changes in the banking business process within the Wi-Fi environment.
W-ifi network provides full-service banking environments , that is, all services which are provisioned over the traditional LAN are available. Physical contact with the teller is required to collect/deposit cash. WiFi environment is providing 'better flexibility' and 'the ability to conduct business in a comfortable environment'. Clients have generally appreciated the convenience and the experience of a superior personal banking made available by use of Wi-fi.

Was Wi-fi successful in a banking environment?
With the help of this initiative, customers get attended to almost immediately, reducing waiting time and creating an informal environment. This allows the Bank's financial advisors to work with customers when and where they want in the branch, thus providing the customers with a sense of comfort and ensures maximum customer satisfaction.

Will Wi-max replace Wi-fi soon?
Wi-fi is limited to an office environment only, while Wi-Max is equivalent to a City-wide Wi-fi service, therefore, it will not be a good comparison in this particular case. Wi-max is expected to be widely available in India in the next 1-2 years. Wi-max will be the preferred mode of connectivity once available and will replace Wi-fi in most cases.