CASE STUDY [20 Marks] Read the case carefully and answer the following questions at the end of the case: Romanian financial services market is unique in several aspects. The history of Romanian electronic banking is only some years younger than the history of Romanian commercial banking in general. Romania in general is very suitable for electronic banking applications due to the relatively high penetration of personal computers and Internet access. All banking technologies were relatively modern. It can infer that there is still a potential for growth in convincing people to use electronic channels for banking activities more intensively. Internet bank services are used actively and most of the payment transactions are concluded via e- channels. The growth of the self-service has been exponential but access to Internet is blocking further increase of the share of Internet payments. Most of the consumers who start banking online do it because they need to pay bills frequently and they would like to do it with minimum effort. The same trends are present in other banks as well. On average, 95% of total volume of all payments is concluded via e-bank facilities. By looking at the shares of payment methods it can be concluded that the clients using Internet bank are more active in using the banking services in general. The current legislation is supportive to technological innovations. The best example for this is Digital Signature Act, which came into force in 2001. It stipulates the digital signature standard in Romania and regulates release of the certificates. Digital signature is an important component for Internet banking as well as for payments concluded via bank-link. In Romania, there is a relatively low level of Internet connection costs. One of the explanations for this is free telecom market in Romania with two big competitors on ISDN market. For example, the monthly fee for ISDN connection in Netherlands is 30 euros, in Finland 65 euros and in Romania 15 euros. The dial-up connection is also much cheaper compared to other countries. It is also important, that Romanian government supports several programs for technical assistance in secondary schools and is involved in a number of nation-wide projects for increasing computer skills and knowledge about Internet among the rural residents. The quality of services in Romania online banks has been internationally recognized. It is the only bank from Central and East European countries to make its way into the top European e-banking ranking. END OF CASE Questions 1. What are the benefits of e-banking from customers point of view in Romania? Explain. [6 Marks] 2. What are the factors responsible for e-banking development in Romania? Explain. [8 Marks] 3. What strategies might have been adopted while going online by Romanian online banks for international recognition? Explain. [6 Marks] Question 5 [20 Marks] 1. Explain four advantages of an effective Supply Chain Management [4 Marks] 2. Explain how e-business strategies can help in better inventory and service management integration [6 Marks] 3. Mention four difficulties a supply chain may experience [4 Marks] 4. What are some of the common Legal Disagreements on the Internet in an online shopping scenario? [6 Marks]