The National Bank of Oman (NBO) has gone live with a new Internet banking service NBO NetB@nk, claimed to be Oman's first online, Web-based consumer finance site.
Users can access their NBO accounts through NBO NetB@nk from any Internet location 24 hours a day to check their balance and view and print transaction history.
The service is currently available to NBO's retail account holders in Oman. To sign up for the Internet banking service, users need to fill in a registration form, available on the Web site and at all NBO branches. Verified customers will then be issued with a password and can log-on to NBO NetB@nk.
Abdulkarim al Hinai, a manager in NBO's information technology division, says: "This manual procedure has been included deliberately to ensure absolute security of our customers' accounts."
He adds: "We have used the highest available encryption technology for the product. NBO NetB@nk is a VeriSign certified secure site...Our network is fully equipped with intrusion detection systems and firewalls. We have also set up a system to monitor customer passwords and will insist that customers change their passwords regularly to prevent any misuse of their account."
NBO NetB@nk was developed inhouse by the bank's own Web team. John Kuriakose, an IT project manager at NBO and leader of the team that developed the site, says NBO will be rolling out additional Web functionality over the next few months, and will also look at offering SMS and kiosk banking in the future."