The Impact Of E-Banking On Bank Performance: A Case Study Of Eco bank Ghana

ABSTRACT 

Technological Advancement has over the last decade drastically changed the way of doing things in many fields of human endeavour, of which the banking sector is no exception. Expectedly, a number of e-products have been developed and service delivery quality has witnessed improvements over the period. As a result, today’s bank customer can access bank accounts on his/her own, transfer funds to other accounts, make payments for bills, buy items online, print or monitor statement of transactions, and transfer funds to and from mobile phones among others. In line with their commitment to satisfy the customer, through quality services, speed and convenience, banks continue to invest massively in ICT infrastructure, including ebanking terminals. However, the impact these innovations on a bank’s performance largely remains untested. Given the current ICT penetration level and mobile telephony growth in the country, this research work sought to ascertain the impact that e-banking has on Ecobank Ghana’s performance. The study adopted the mixed method approach and primary data was gathered through interviews of senior executives of the bank. This was augmented with secondary data from published historical financial statements. The study also gathered financial data on revenues attributable to the use of the bank’s e-banking terminals from bank officials for analysis. Simple correlation analysis and trends were employed for the analysis of quantitative data and the thematic analysis method for the qualitative data. The study identified the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and cards (debit, credit), Internet Banking, OMNI internet banking corporate clients, mobile banking, Ecobank Mobile App and BankCollect as the bank’s main e-banking channels. The study also found that the implementation of e-banking in Ecobank has had tremendous impact on its performance by affecting its revenue positively, increasing its customer base, and enhancing its corporate image. The study found a positive and significant linear relationship between bank performance (ROE) and Fees & Commissions xii from ATM and cards. In addition, the study found occasional system malfunctions such as breakdown of ATM machines, slow or no internet connectivity, and cost of maintenance as challenges for the implementation of e-banking in Ecobank Ghana. It was recommended that the bank undertakes massive awareness creation and advertisement for its e-products to attract more patronage from customers. It was also recommended that the bank installs real time monitoring systems to ensure that ATMs that run out of cash are quickly attended to minimize customer discomfort and user apathy.