THE CONCEPT OF NET BANKING

The internet revolution is changing the way we communicate and interact with the world around us. The medium of the net has opened up new vistas in commerce and banking and monetary transactions are done at the speed of light. E-commerce is the mantra of the young, urban, upwardly mobile professional, who makes things happen at the click of a mouse. Nowadays, it's common to transact and do business on the net by using one's credit card.

Ever wondered what happens when you punch in your credit card number on an internet website? Your credit card number travels to the site where somebody at the back-end receives the number, then punches it into an EDC terminal for approval from VISA and MasterCard. Because of the manual intervention, there is a risk of fraud, as the credit card number could be misused. Anybody who has access to your credit card number could order goods on any other site and you end up paying for it. Furthermore, the manual procedure makes the system slow in terms of the response time authorisation.

The concept of Virtual Banking or Internet banking was introduced in 1994. Now, HDFC Bank, for the first time in India, has made the e-shopping experience secure, on-line and real time with the launch of its payment gateway in May 2000. This will allow any Visa/Master Credit Card holder anywhere in the world to make payments for global services over the Internet. If you enter your credit card number on this gateway, not only does the credit card number travel in a secure mode to the site but also all the way to Visa and back to the site instantly, automatically, without the credit card number being visible to the shopping site or anybody else.

HDFC has launched Depository Services on the Net, by which retail banking customers having a depository account with them can now view their accounts through Net Banking. To avail this facility the customer will have to submit a form for getting his accounts registered to his customer ID. This service will be extended for all the accounts where the Net Banking customer is the first / sole account holder in the Depository. The facilities that the investor can avail of through the net for depository services would include the following :

• Holdings as on the close of the last business day.
• Transactions for the last seven days.
• Demat status of the shares submitted for demat in the last one month.
• Account holders profile.
• ISIN search to know the ISIN for a particular company.
• CC Calendar to know the various settlement details on various exchanges.

Netbanking customers can transfer funds from any of their accounts to any Third Party account anywhere in the Bank. Transfers will be effected on an ONLINE and REALTIME basis. No more hassles of issuing outstation cheques / demand drafts, etc., to other account holders of the Bank. HDFC Bank's BillPay facility allows you to pay your utility & cellular phone bills on the net from anywhere in the world, anytime. Log in to the HDFC Bank website, select the bill payment option & the company for which you have to pay the bill. Enter in the bill amount you have to pay & confirm. Your account will be automatically debited & payment made to the respective billing company the next working day.

HDFC Bank offers a new concept called Mobile Banking in association with Orange in Mumbai and Essar and AirTel in Delhi. A revolutionary new service, it enables you to access your HDFC Bank account from your cellular phone. This service works on the SMS message (Text Message) function available on the mobile phone and is supported by their NetBanking infrastructure. You can conduct the following transactions using your mobile phone:

All transactions, barring the balance enquiry, are conducted on your operative account, which is the account you select. The balance enquiry transaction operates on all accounts linked to your customer ID. Customers in Mumbai are offered Mobile Commerce for the first time in India. If you are a resident of Mumbai, you can access your HDFC Bank account and conduct financial transactions on your mobile phone screen. To use Mobile Commerce, open a Savings Account and register for the Mobile Commerce and BillPay services. This facility offers to pay your electricity and mobile phone bills, enquire about pending bills of companies that you have registered under the BillPay facility, check the balance in the fixed deposits linked to your customer ID, etc.

For any further clarifications, please get in touch with the local depository service providing branch or drop a mail at : dphelp@hdfcbank.com or visit their site : www.hdfcbank.com

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