Update Notes: 18-Sep-2000

Being currently resident in the U.S., I've had an opportunity to broaden my Internet banking experiences a bit more.

1. First off, I needed a way to access my Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) accounts from the U.S. Despite the availability of SCB Park, SCB's bonafide Internet Banking service, my first choice was to stick with SCB Cash Management, which requires a direct (or long distance, in my case) dial-in to SCB's servers. After a bit of trial and error getting Windows Dial-up Networking to dial long distance using a phone card, I managed to connect to SCB's servers. Zilch, nothing happened. A few more tries and the same thing - nothing.

   While I never bothered to ask SCB what could have happened, my guess is that my connect speed was too low. Here in the U.S., I get at MOST a 26.4kb connect speed when I dial into the Internet. Yes, that's right, 26.4 kilobits/second! - no typo. Simply put, my connect speed here is only HALF of what I get in poor, backward Thailand. Dialing long distance, I suspect the speed dropped a bit more, and it's very possible that SCB's modems are set to reject connections lower than a given speed.

   Thus, I had no choice but to head for SCB Park (http://www.scbpark.com). Getting SCB Park up and running was pretty simple. The service is mostly similar but not identical to SCB Cash Management. But close enough for my needs, and it has worked fine.

   One of the absolute WORST aspects of SCB Park though, is the contract you are required to sign. On the one hand, the bank absolves itself of any responsibility for mishaps that may arise as a result of your using SCB Park, even if the fault is theirs. On the other hand, you are required to accept responsiblity and to pay any and all compensation for any damage caused to the system by your use of the system.

   When asked, I'm sure the legal-heads at SCB will say that this was included for the bank's protection (as if we users deserve none, right?), and the bank would never take legal action except against hackers. But of course, the contract doesn't state this, does it? Since the bank determines whether/when/how much damage is done and by whom, and given that you have already agreed to allow the bank to make this determination and to pay whatever they demand, it's like living with a gun at your head.

   I was sorely tempted to cross out these two passages and initial them, but I figured my application would be rejected outright. As mentioned, I had little choice at the time. But now that time has passed a bit, I'm going to re-evaluate whether I wish to have this liability hanging over head and whether to cancel my use of SCB Park. Khun Chada, I hope you're reading this.

2. Of course, I also needed to open a U.S. bank account here. In selecting a U.S. bank, I looked at what online banking services they offered (no, not the interest rates!). As it turned out, most banks have this service now. Not only that, but many "credit unions" have them as well. My guess is that financial institutions that don't wish to develop such a service in-house, simply buy and install software that provides this facility.

   What are these internet banking services like compared to SCB Cash Management/SCB Park? Functionally, very similar. My main peeve is that the U.S. banks tend to provide less detail than the Thai banks, and they don't seem to take the "ledger" approach (credits, debits, balances) in presenting financial data. This makes their on-line reports (as well as paper statements) a bit hard to read, at least for me. Another difference is that SCB Cash/Park both have a real-time balance check, which my U.S. bank doesn't (it's delayed by about 24 hours). On the plus side though, many U.S. banks allow you to sign up for internet banking entirely online, avoiding the paperwork that SCB invariably requires.

   Dare I say that SCB's offerings are better then? No, I won't go that far, but it's also clear that they don't lag behind the U.S. banks either.

3. One thing I haven't done yet, though, is to sign up for a real internet bank (see below); i.e. one that doesn't have a physical presence. Frankly, I'm not sure if I will either. Internet banks have two advantages over regular brick-and-mortar banks: a) they provide higher interest rates, and b) they allow you to do business over the internet. a) Isn't much of an issue for me since credit unions offer better rates than regular banks, and b) as long as their services can also be accessed online, there's little incentive for me to go online and forego the pleasure of dropping into a credit union branch and grabbing some candy or a free pen (grin).

Update Notes: 26-Jan-2000

1. I was a bit sloppy when using the terms "internet banking" and "online banking". Internet banking, as the name suggests, is banking conducted over the internet. Online banking is broader and encompasses not only internet banking, but also banking conducted through dedicated dial-in numbers. SCB Cash Management, while not internet banking, is still an example of online banking. Meanwhile, reader Roger Merritt emailed me saying that Bank of America/NationsBank does indeed have an extensive online banking network, but I believe their internet banking per se is still quite limited.
2. Dumb me. I failed to mention one of the pioneers of i-Banking in the U.S.; i.e. Wells Fargo Bank (http://www.wellsfargo.com). Another interesting U.S. bank with internet banking and pretty good geographical coverage is U.S. Bank (http://www.usbank.com). Both banks are real brick and mortar banks, by the way, and not ethereal internet banks.
3. Soon after the article was printed, I received a letter from Siam Commercial Bank announcing their new internet banking service (what a coincidence!). Interested SCB customers can sign up at http://www.scbpark.com. The service itself is free, as opposed to SCB Cash Management, but certain types of transactions will still incur service charges. Unfortunately, the website is still substantially in Thai (add English screens pronto please!). I have yet to sign up though. Another i-Banking soon-to-be: Bank of Asia, which is expected to roll out their service by the end of November 1999 according to the November 10, 1999 issue of Post Database. I didn't see any brochures on this when I visited a BOA branch today though. Still, the ball seems to be rolling nicely now. Of course, let's wait and see how good these services really are.
4. Important: The IP addresses I mentioned in the article no longer work. From late January 2000 onwards you can only enter through http://extranet.scb.co.th, which means a few more clicks.