Despite big talk, customer finds it difficult to actually bank on line
Internet banking is all the rage, with new banks going on line almost weekly. The most recent to jump on the bandwagon is Bank Gospodarki Zywnosciowej (BGZ), which launched its web site Dec. 3 (www.bgz.pl). It's a site full of bells and whistles, but, like most of the other banks' sites, you can't actually do your banking there.
Only a few banks have so far ventured to offer real on-line services, including Bank Pekao, Kredyt Bank and Bank Przemyslowo-Handlowy, but as one entrepreneur has found out, you can't always "bank" on the service.
The entrepreneur, who runs an IT consulting business and would like to remain anonymous, started using Pekao's on-line banking service one year ago. "I was one of the first customers," he said. "I hate banks. I have better things to do with my time than stand in line, losing time."
So he figured the account with Pekao would save him time by allowing him to do some things, such as transferring the salaries of his employees, at the time and place of his own choosing. "I planned to do the transfers late at night when I have more time."
After a first experience with Kredyt Bank, he switched to Pekao because the bank offered lower fees. Pekao charges
zl. 8 per month for the service and 0.1% per transfer, while he said Kredyt Bank's fees were zl. 50 per month plus zl. 5 per transfer. "Pekao's service is cheap, that's why I changed," he said.
But when the first time came to pay his employees, he got a lesson in "you get what you pay for."
It was the end of the month and time to pay salaries. Around midnight, the hopeful boss switched on his computer, logged onto the internet, typed in the bank's address (www.pekao.com.pl) and ... waited. "It took a half hour just to get their home page to come up," he said. "It was the last minute to pay salaries, so I was getting furious."
Twenty-four-hour banking had been one of the reasons he wanted an internet account in the first place, but he never figured it would require him to stay up around the clock to try to complete his transactions.
"I tried again at 2 a.m., but no success. He called the bank and asked what the problem was. "They said, 'There's high traffic, just be patient.' " It was the day before a four-day holiday weekend, and the bank's system was evidently not up to the rush of people wanting to get their banking done beforehand. "They said, 'We will upgrade the equipment in a month.' "
A technical problem is one thing, but it was the human factor that the entrepreneur found to be most lacking.
"I told my secretary to call the president of Pekao and ask why she wasn't getting paid. She didn't get through; they directed her to the quality control office, but they were really unprofessional. I asked, 'How am I going to get these payments made?' and they told me to contact my local branch. I said, 'Next proposal! I don't have time to do your job.' So then they told me to fax them all the transfer slips, they retyped all the information into the computer and a few days later I saw that the transfers were made."
Eventually he succeeded in completing the transfers to pay his employees, but "these mistakes cost me money, the fees I had to pay for paying late.
"It's not a huge amount, I wouldn't go to court for revenge over this," he said, "But they didn't even offer compensation, like a free month of access."
Jacek Kozlowski, public relations director for Pekao, admitted that the bank's on-line service had experienced difficulties in October. But he said that the bank had upgraded its server in November, which had solved many of the issues. "There are no more problems," he said.
Although highly dissatisfied with his first experience with on-line banking, the entrepreneur said he would stay a Pekao customer, because, "Except for BPH's Sezam service (www.bph.pl), Pekao is a monopolist" in the on-line banking business. "I'll have to watch Sezam closer and see how it works. I hope these are just 'pioneer' experiences."
Softbank swallows another ISP
Softbank last week announced it would take over Polska OnLine, a relatively minor internet service provider (ISP). The company is ranked 18th among ISPs in terms of number of domains hosted with 278, which compares to 2,550 for No. 1 ISP Internet Partners. Softbank said the purchase, whose price it is silent about, but which has been estimated at $2.2 million, is its "first step" in its on-line strategy that will eventually encompass e-business and specialized services.
Softbank bought the 86% stake in Polska OnLine from existing shareholders, including Esther Dyson's Edventure Ventures and European Renaissance Capital. In October, Elektrim announced that it would buy this stake in the ISP, but evidently backed off while it was having financial difficulties.
The deal must still be accepted by the Competition and Consumer Protection Office (UOKiK), but that is seen as a formality. When Elektrim made its bid in October, it announced it would pay about $2.25 million for an 86% stake in the firm, which values the whole company at $2.6 million.
Polska OnLine was started in 1994 with $50,000 from Dyson, who took a 22% stake. The company grew to 50 employees and more than 2,000 subscribers by mid-1997.
Esther Dyson is a member of the board of directors of New World Publishing.
