Automation in Dutch-Bangla Bank

Automation in Dutch-Bangla Bank

(Report as on 31 Dec, 2014)

Introduction:

Dutch-Bangla Bank, a highly technology-savvy bank, has been continuing its journey towards adopting new technology-based ideas in delivery banking services since 2004. In today’s banking sector, technology plays a vital role in executing all sorts of customer friendly banking operations with cost efficient services. Technology has become an aide of necessity rather than option in financial institutions just to satisfy the growing service demand of the customer in a cost effective way. Keeping this in view, the bank has adopted many technology based solutions that has placed the bank at the zenith of the technological advancement in the banking industry. The Bank has set up a comprehensive ICT infrastructure to manage the time and geographical limitations, to bring employee efficiency, to provide cost effective services to the customers with the ultimate objective of customer satisfaction. Today, Dutch-Bangla Bank has become an ideal reference for technology adoption and many banks in home and abroad follow the Bank. The “Best Digital Bank” award to Dutch-Bangla Bank by the Digital World-2015 organized jointly by the ICT Division of the Government of Peoples Republic of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) is a testimony to the fact.

The Debut:

To provide the valued customers of the bank with technology-based services with reasonable charge/fee, the bank undertook a comprehensive IT project at a cost of Tk.250 million in 2003. Keeping the security and reliability in mind, the management of the bank identified some hardware and software components for the project. Among hardware the multi-processor clustered Servers, ATM, POS terminal, Card Personalization System, high capacity UPS, Host Security Module, Networking Equipment, and among software the Core Banking Software, Switching Software, Database and operating systems are identified to be required for the project. In view to earn adequate technical know-how before acquiring these hardware and software, a management team comprising the Managing Director, Deputy Managing Director and the Head of IT visited similar installations in different bank in Srilanka and India in January, 2003.

The Board of the Directors of the Bank in its meeting held on 23 September, 2003 approved the project. Thereafter the management floated tenders for different components separately and purchased the same.

Besides this, the bank had setup a modern Data Center and DRS (Disaster Recovery Site) to safe-guard the customer’s sensitive data. A set of servers, networking equipment and UPS identical to the Data Center was installed at DRS. In case the Data Center was destroyed for any reason, the DRS would take over the control of branches, ATMs, POS terminal and Internet Banking.

The implementation of the project was started with training of the Core Team raining abroad. A team of 22 members which included 14 members from the business and 8 members from the IT Division took 8 (eight) week long extensive training on the project implementation issues. In February, 2004 the User Acceptance Test (UAT) was started in the data center of the bank. The Core Team and Networking Team started installation of the servers, networking equipment & software, and customization of the same to adopt the prevailing banking rules and regulations of the country. Side by side, the Switching Team started installation of ATMs and POS terminals and testing their performance with the switching software.

After UAT was over, the roll-out of the branches from the old system to the newly installed system began. The first two branches namely Local Office and the Motijheel Foreign Exchange Branch went live on 3^rd July, 2004 while the first ATM was installed at the Local Office premises on 7 August, 2004. The first debit card was issued on 26 July, 2004.

After successful migration of the first two branches, the IT division rolled-out rest of the branches one by one at every weekend and installed ATM under the respective branches. On 17^th December, 2004, roll-out of all the branches of the bank was completed. The year-end operation of the bank was completed successfully on 30^th December, 2004 centrally at the Data Center.

The honorable finance minister officially inaugurated the on-line banking services of Dutch-Bangla Bank 03 January, 2005.

  

Infrastructure:

Data Center and Disaster Recovery Site:

A corporate intranet was built connecting the Data Center (DC), Disaster Recover Site (DRS), various branches and Head Office Divisions with a view of establishing an uninterrupted flow of information in a secured manner. The computing resources of the bank (Hardware, Software and Telecommunication equipment etc.) have been installed in these places to ease the information exchange among the employees of the bank. The main items that have been installed in the DC & DRS includes the RISC based servers, Network equipment, Storage, Database and other devices from many renowned international brands.

The live system normally runs from the DC. The DRS starts functioning if the DC goes out of order for any reason. All the branches and Head Office Divisions are connected through redundant telecommunication links with these two places. Various world-class Application Software installed in these two places have made it possible to process the information and make it available to all the branches and Head office divisions instantly. As the processing, storage and dissemination of information are done simultaneously at the central place, the productivity of the employees has been increased to a great extent with the ultimate outcome of better organizational efficiency.

 

Software Systems:

Core Banking Solution:

DBBL has been using world renowned Core Banking Solution named Flexcube UBS of Oracle Financial Software Services Limited (OFSS), a concern of Oracle Corporation. With this software, all the branches and Head Office Divisions are conducting their business transaction concurrently and instantly as the software is a centralized one installed in the Data Center. It has brought efficiency of providing any branch banking service to our valued customers. Moreover, it has enabled us to add other electronic delivery channels like ATM/ POS, Internet Banking etc. to provide 24x7x365 based services to our customers.

 

Switching Software:

DBBL has been using a renowned Switching Software that allows us to establish the largest ATM and POS network in Bangladesh. It is actually acting as a gatekeeper of our Core Banking Solution that checks and verifies all the transactional requests from ATM and POS, and allows only the valid transaction to execute. It has made the access to our Core Banking Solution from the electronic delivery channels more secure.

 

Plastic Money - Issuing:

Dutch-Bangla Bank has made the plastic money popular in Bangladesh. Around 50% of the present plastic cards of the country have been issued by the Bank.

Nexus Proprietary Debit Card:

Dutch-Bangla Bank issued its first Nexus Proprietary Debit Card on July 26, 2004. Now “Nexus Debit Card” is the most popular name in the Card Industry of Bangladesh. Bank has also issued MasterCard Debit Card and Visa Debit Card. As at the end of year-2014, the number of the Debit Card of the Bank stands at 3.80 million.

All the debit cards of the Bank (Nexus, MasterCard and Visa) are Chip-based EMV enabled.

The Nexus Debit Cards are instant card i.e., the valued customers instantly get their DBBL nexus debit cards along with PIN after opening an account in any of the DBBL branches. Moreover, the customers get instant replacement of their lost or damaged debit cards from their nearest branch.

The Nexus Debit Card is accepted at ATM, POS terminals and Internet Payment Gateway (for e-commerce payment).

MasterCard and Visa Debit Cards:

Dutch-Bangla Bank launched issuing of MasterCard's debit products such as Maestro and Cirrus in 2005 and Visa's debit products such as Visa Electron & Plus in 2006. From then onward, Bank’s valued customers are able to choose their card from a variety of DBBL Debit Cards.

International Debit Cards:

DBBL issues international debit cards such as MasterCard Debit or Visa Debit. As per Bangladesh Bank's circular, an international card can be issued against customer foreign currency account like Resident Foreign Currency Deposit (RFCD) account, Foreign Currency (FC) account or Exporter Retention Quota (ERQ) account.

Credit Cards (Dual Currency):

DBBL has been issuing Visa EMV credit cards since November, 2008 and MasterCard EMV credit cards since April, 2010. Although DBBL's entrance in credit card services was delayed, it made a difference in the market by issuing the most secure EMV credit cards from the first day. At of the end of 2014, the total number of Credit Card issued by the Bank stood at 53,640 units.

The Credits Cards of the Bank are issued with dual currency i.e., the cards have loan limit both in local currency as well as US dollar. If a card has a credit limit in US dollar, the card become an international card and can be used anywhere in the world.

Due to security, other card-issuing banks in Bangladesh usually block customers’ International transactions and require the customer to make prior phone calls to the card-issuing bank to open international transactions in their card. When a customer returns to Bangladesh, he/she has to call the bank again to block his/her card’s international transactions. Sometimes card-issuing banks replace the customer's card when the customer visits high risk countries such as Malaysia and Thailand. But with DBBL's EMV enabled chip cards there is no such hassle as international transactions are always open and the customer is fully secured. In addition to providing security, DBBL charges the lowest Interest rate in the market on purchase transaction and has a maximum of 50 days interest free (grace) period. There is also no fee for cash withdrawal at DBBL ATM.

VISA Platinum Card (the Premium brand):

DBBL has launched VISA Platinum card for its privileged customer on 16 December, 2014. The Chip-based Visa Platinum offers a high credit limit and acceptance at more than 29 million locations worldwide, including one million ATMs in the Visa Global ATM Network. A world of privileges waits with Visa Platinum. From golf to dining to shopping and more, Visa Platinum lets the valued cardholders enjoy a host of attractive lifestyle privileges and experiences. These cards are targeted to high net worth individuals who are international in outlook with large disposable income and consistency of service. The card holders get airport lounge facilities and priority pass in 600 airports, discount in hotel, dining, restaurants in almost all the tourist cities worldwide as well.

MasterCard Titanium Card (the Premium brand):

DBBL has launched MasterCard Titanium for the first time in Bangladesh on 16 December, 2014. With this stylish Chip-based credit card, customers may enjoy exclusive benefits, experiences and lifestyle privileges; including access to entertainment, sport, electronics and much more. The MasterCard Titanium Credit Card opens up a world of convenience, safety and simplicity. With access to over 30 million merchants across the globe, it offers an excitingly diverse range of shopping, dining and travel experiences to enrich the lifestyle including airport lounge facility and priority pass. 

Card Loyalty Program:

A point-based loyalty program has been introduced for DBBL Credit cards and Debit cards in 2014. Customers will gain loyalty points against their card spending at POS terminal or e-commerce gateway which can be redeemed later on upon reaching to a certain threshold point or completion of a certain period. Customers can prefer to redeem these loyalty points for their annual fee waiver, cash back to their account or gift voucher which is expendable at DBBL merchant outlets. A card holder earns 1 reward point for spending every BDT 50/US$1.

0% InstaPay:

Dutch-Bangla Bank has introduced a program called “0% InstaPay” in 2014. Under this program, the DBBL cardholders can buy different products and services from selected merchant outlets of the Bank and repay in monthly installments at zero percent interest. The installment period varies for different products from minimum three months to maximum twenty four months.  Under this facility customers can buy furniture, electronics goods, jewelery and pay hospital bills.

Virtual Card:

Students pursuing higher education and/or scholarships abroad are often required to pay the fees and charges online using a credit card. Students  are  also  required  to  take  various examinations such as IELTS, TOEFL, GMAT, GRE - all of which require them to register online for paying fees and charges with a credit card.

Most students and their guardians however are not eligible to have a credit card from a bank and thus do not have one. To help them, DBBL introduced Virtual Card for the first time in Bangladesh in 2011. This is not a plastic card - it is a piece of paper inside a closed envelop which carries valid card number, expiry date' and CVV/CVC which can be used for payment to educational / certifications authorities. The virtual card is distributed from DBBL branches and the value is fixed as per the requirement of the students. The DBBL Virtual Card has become very popular amongst students.

Plastic Money - Acquiring:

Acquiring MasterCard and Visa:

Dutch-Bangla Bank launched acquiring of MasterCard's all products such as MasterCard Credit Card, Maestro and Cirrus in 2005 and acquiring of Visa's all products such as Visa Credit Card, Visa Debit, Visa Electron and Plus in 2006. From then onward, all the MasterCard and VISA card holders of other local and foreign banks were able to withdraw cash from our DBBL ATMs and pay shopping, hotel or dining bills using DBBL POS terminals.

Acquiring Union Pay cards:

Every year travelers and workers visit Bangladesh for different purposes from Thailand, Malaysia, China, Korea, Japan, and Singapore who often have a Union Pay card. Dutch-Bangla Bank started acquiring of Union Pay cards in 2014. Since then, a Union Pay cardholder can withdraw cash from DBBL ATM or use DBBL POS for shopping. DBBL also is planning to acquire the same card at DBBL’s Internet Payment Gateway and also to issue in future.

Acquiring Diners' & Discover cards:

Diners Club International, listed company in NYSE is owned by Discover Financial Services, a renowned direct banking and payment services company of U.S. permits banks to issue and acquire Discover and Diner’s Club cards. Dutch-Bangla Bank started acquiring Discover and Diner’s Club cards in 2013. Travelers bearing these cards can now withdraw money from any DBBL ATM booths. DBBL is planning to acquire the same at POS terminals and DBBL’s Internet Payment Gateway, and also to issue in the future.

Alternative Delivery Channel:

Automated Teller Machine (ATM):

Dutch-Bangla Bank is pioneer in making the ATM services available to the mass population specially to the poor and lower middle income group, and to the rural area. DBBL installed its first onsite ATM on 7 August, 2004 and the first offsite ATM at the Rifles Square, Dhaka on 25 November, 2004. Bank also launched “ATM on Mobile Van” - first of its kind in Bangladesh on 30 October, 2008.

Meantime DBBL has built a country-wide ATM network of 2,705 ATMs. The ATMs are available in most of the prominent places all over Bangladesh. Since these services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it has overcome the time limitation of traditional branch banking.

 

The average ATM uptime was 98% during 2013 and 2014. Even though the number of ATMs has increased, with the help of ESQ ATM Monitoring Software and effort of respective stake holders like bank employees, cash feeding vendors and ATM & UPS maintenance companies, the Bank was able to maintain the uptime of ATMs at 98% in both the years.

Bank has introduced state-of-the-art Cash Sorting Machine to sort ATM cash for the first time in Bangladesh to ensure that customers get good quality notes from ATM. The Cash Sorting Machines have been installed in the branches from where third party vendors collect cash for ATM. Also some machines have been installed at cash remitting branches so that they can send sorted cash to ATM cash feeding branches. This has improved the quality of notes delivered from ATMs and also eliminated the fake notes being dispensed from ATMs. 
 

To off-set electricity shortage problem at various important locations, Bank has set up 41 units of solar systems at ATM booths and Fast Tracks and a few more to be deployed soon.

 

Fast Track:

Dutch-Bangla Bank introduced “First Truck” for the first time in Bangladesh in 2010. The first Fast Track was installed in Gulshan-2 circle on 20 January, 2010. Meantime DBBL has setup 350 numbers of Fast Track all over the country. These Fast Tracks are opened 7 days a week and are being attended by two DBBL officers every day. Customers can avail services like cash deposit, cash withdrawal, and assistance for account opening & card related services from these Fast Tracks. Because of its excellent 24x7x365 service, the name “Fast Track” has deeply anchored in the mind of the common people of Bangladesh.

 

Point of Sale (POS) terminals:

Dutch-Bangla Bank installed its first POS terminal on 18 April, 2005 at Solna in Kalabagan, Dhaka. Meantime DBBL has extended the POS network nationwide to cater the demand of card users. Currently DBBL has 7,599 numbers of POS terminals installed across the country. As of 31 December 2014, total volume of transaction was BDT 11,843 million and at the same point in 2013 it was BDT 6,675 million. From 2013 to 2014 the rate of growth of transaction in POS was 77%.

 

Internet banking:

Dutch-Bangla Bank has introduced the Internet Banking system on 3 July, 2004. This was the first Internet Banking of the country with facilities of real-time financial transactions. Internet Banking system of the Bank is a less expensive electronic delivery channel best for the roaming customers through which Fund Transfer, opening of Term Deposits, payment of Utility Bills, issuing Standing Instructions, printing Account Statement and many other services are made available to the valued customers. All these activities are done without intervention of a bank official. The flavor of Internet banking makes no difference whether the customers are living abroad or in Bangladesh.

Internet Payment Gateway for settlement of e-Commerce transactions:

Buying and selling of goods and services online is the most popular consumer habit being growing in the developed countries day by day. It has also started its journey in Bangladesh. To become a most active player in this new market, DBBL for the first time in Bangladesh, established an Internet Payment Gateway on 3^rd June, 2010.

DBBL’s Internet Payment Gateway accepts Nexus Cards and all types of cards of MasterCard and Visa. There are 272 e-merchants including WASA and DESCO registered for Dutch-Bangla Bank’s Internet Payment Gateway. Cardholders from DBBL, other local or international banks can buy goods and services like commodities, tickets of airline, train, bus, payment of tuition fees of various schools and universities, booking of hotels and payment of utility bills using their respective cards from these e-merchant web sites and DBBL settles the transactions between the cardholder’s bank and the e-merchant.

To secure e-commerce transactions, Bank has implemented security mechanism called “3D secure” (on the other terms, ‘vbv’ for Visa and ‘Secure Code’ for MasterCard) which protect the merchants from loss due to fraud transactions.

As of 31st December 2014 total volume of e-commerce transaction was BDT 830.07 Million which was in increase of 93% from the previous year.

In 2014 DBBL has signed up some prominent e-merchant like The Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB), BAF Shaheen English Medium School (SEMS), American International School Dhaka (AISD), RUET-50 Years Celebrate, Bangladesh Business Publications Ltd and Amber Lifestyle.

Call Center – 16216:

Dutch-Bangla Bank has established it call center on 1^st February, 2011 as another delivery channel to deliver services to the valued customers. Due to a significant growth in customer acquisition and number of transactions in various segments of the Bank’s portfolio, Call Center received around 12.22% more calls in 2014 than the previous year. There are 42 agents working in the DBBL Call center 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

SMS and Alert Banking:

In the month of September, 2006, the bank launched sms and alert banking Systems. The sms banking system is a modern tool for banking using a mobile phone. This service puts the banking at the palm top of the customers. The customers can avail a wide range of banking services such as balance inquiry, obtaining mini statement, paying utility bills through his/her mobile, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year sitting at his/her home or vehicle.

Using the Alert Banking System, Dutch-Bangla Bank alerts its customer about transactions in their respective account. Alert service is very convenient, useful & easy way to know the activity of the bank account. When an account is debited or credited for more than a certain amount, an automatic alert is sent to the account holder’s mobile phone informing detail of the transaction such as time & amount. Similar alerts are sent for transaction in credit card account. Moreover a message is sent to account holders’ mobile at the end of each month. The client can register for this service free of cost.

Alert Type	Description
Debit alert	Sent when customer account is debited by more than a specific amount
Credit alert	Sent when customer account is credited by more than a specific amount
Month-end alert	The account balance at the end of a month is sent to the customer. The balance is also sent at the end of each quarter, half year-end and year-end. In December 2014, more than three million customers of DBBL were informed of their year-end balances at their mobile phones
Credit card alert	Sent to credit cardholders on each of his/her credit card transactions. Thus, by knowing the credit card transaction alert in time, the customer can prevent any unauthorized or fraudulent activities in card account

Integration with Central Bank & other Banks:

Bangladesh Automated Clearing House - BACPS & BEFTN:

The Bangladesh Bank launched a project of automating the payment systems of the country in the name of “Bangladesh Automated Clearing House” or BACH on 7 October, 2010. The BACH has two components:

i)          BACPS (Bangladesh Automated Cheque Processing Systems) and

ii)         BEFTN (Bangladesh Electronic Funds Transfer Network)

Dutch-Bangla Bank is the first Bank to connect with the BACPS on October 7, 2010. Under this project, Dutch-Bangla Bank has provided MICR check scanner to all of its branches. As a result, the customers’ check can be cleared within shortest possible time using the BACPS. As the BACPS is integrated with our Core Banking System, the whole operation is done with minimum human resources.

Dutch-Bangla Bank is also the first bank to join BEFTN on 28 February, 2010. All of our branches are actively participating in BEFTN. As a result, batch transfer of funds like salary disbursement and distribution of cash dividend of shareholders of various public limited companies to other banks has become very easy task today along with many other individual fund transfer like insurance premium, fund transfer through Standing Instruction.

MICR Check Reader to Cash Tellers:

DBBL has installed MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) Check Readers to all its cash tellers to verify the genuineness of a check before it is paid. Moreover, it has been integrated with the Core Banking Solution FlexCube UBS so that the account number, check number etc. are automatically fed to the corresponding fields in the check payment screen. It has increased the efficiency of the cash tellers substantially.

NPSB:

The Central Bank has setup National Payment Switch, Bangladesh (NPSB) to facilitate interbank ATM transactions in Bangladesh. Dutch-Bangla Bank is the first Bank to join the NPSB on 26 December, 2012. The Central Bank has fixed an interchange fee of Tk.20/- for such transactions i.e., if customers of other bank withdraw money from a DBBL ATM, that Bank will pay Tk.20/- to DBBL as service charge.

Present the cost per transaction at DBBL ATM is Tk. 40/-. This means that DBBL is subsidizing Tk. 20/- per transaction for the customers of other Banks.

DBBL understand that the NPSB will help develop the socio-economic condition of the country as a whole. More and more people will be able to get benefit of the modern technology both in urban and rural areas at an affordable cost. DBBL is bearing the differential cost as part of its CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities.

SWIFT System:

SWIFT is a secured tool for the banks to exchange financial message with other banks. The Letter of Credit (L/C) is prepared and delivered to the recipient bank quickly using SWIFT. In Dutch-Bangla Bank, the Core Banking Solution is integrated with the SwiftAlliance Access Software that enables CBS to send the L/C and other fin message as soon as it is prepared and authorized in CBS. Moreover, nostro account reconciliation has become an easy task due to the fact that messages related to nostro account information such as MT 940 and MT 950 messages are automatically fed into the reconciliation module of CBS for auto reconciliation.

Security at DBBL Automation:

EMV:

The normal bank card was introduced 40 years ago and has failed to keep up with the rapid technology and security development that has been taking place in the industry. Its inherent problems caused competitors Visa and MasterCard to collaborate and create a next generation bank card that will keep up with rapid security developments called EMV.

DBBL keeps track of the latest security developments internationally and strives to give the same level of service to its local clients. To give more peace of mind to its customers along with more security, the Bank has implemented EMV (EuroPay, MasterCard and Visa) for its credit cards on 27 November, 2008 and debit cards on 14 January, 2015 and made all the ATMs and POS terminals EMV enabled on 31 March, 2009 so that these can accept EMV cards from anywhere in the world. DBBL for the first time in this region has offered a complete EMV solution (both in issuing and acquiring for all types of cards of Visa and MasterCard) for the cardholders.

While an EMV Card may look similar to a normal card, the technology on it and supporting it is revolutionary. It uses an onboard computer chip instead of a magnetic strip and relies on DBBL’s data center for on the spot verification. It features built in encryption algorithms mandated by Visa and MasterCard which are impossible to duplicate or modify. It was designed and researched by Visa and MasterCard to be the most advanced card and eliminates the security problems of normal cards.

An EMV card can be used in ATM safely for withdrawal of money. The EMV credit card issued against Travel Quota (TQ), Residential Foreign Currency Deposit (RFCD) or Retention Quota (RQ) can also be used securely aboard for payment of various bills and/or withdrawal of Foreign Currency.

Although the EMV was developed jointly by Europay, MasterCard & Visa but was later adopted by other payments card brands. In addition to preventing copying of card data, the EMV also ensures a liability shift benefit which protects cardholders from financial loss in non-EMV ATM and POS terminals.

Second Factor Authentication (2FA) for Internet Banking and e-com transactions:

DBBL implemented Second Factor Authentication Systems (2FA) for the first time in Bangladesh on 22 July, 2013. The 2FA solution system is a security system in which more than one form of authentication is used to verify the legitimacy of a transaction where end user cannot disown the authenticity of a transaction. The clients of DBBL are making the transactions with more security through different delivery channel like Internet Banking and Internet Payment Gateway using 2FA solution.

In this process, customer is required to enter a secret code (which is different for each transaction) in addition to his/her normal password or card information at the time of making transaction at Internet Banking System or e-commerce site respectively, which ensures genuine cardholders’ participation and thus protects fraud.

DBBL offers hardware token and software token to the customer to use for completing 2FA during a transaction. At the time of registration process, the cardholders choose the option which is suitable to him.

Financial Inclusion:

Mobile Banking:

In Bangladesh, a large number of people in the rural areas are not getting financial services due to non-availability of traditional banking channels. These people usually keep the excess money at their home or shop. They cannot get the opportunity to open a bank account and keep money safely. Moreover, many people from the rural areas are coming to the urban areas to work in the mills and factories and in various offices. Students are also coming to the urban areas to study in various institutes. For all these reasons, a substantial local remittance market has been created in the country.

Again as the Cell Phone has reached to the hands of many families of the rural people, it is really a great opportunity for the banks to provide these financial services electronically to this underprivileged group of people. Mobile Telecommunication Network is the cheapest electronic delivery channel being used by many companies all over the world to deliver information based services to their customers remotely. Considering this opportunity, Bangladesh Bank has issued a guideline on Mobile Financial Services for Banks under which Dutch-Bangla Bank, for the first time in Bangladesh started mobile banking on 31 March, 2011.

Agent Banking:

In view to provide banking services to the unbanked who don’t have a mobile phone, DBBL launched pilot operation of Agent Banking Services on 19 January, 2015. Under this system, a customer can open a bank account and operate it through an Agent. Customer will approve his transaction placing his finger on a biometric scanner. This is the most secured banking system in the world. As this type of banking does not require a signature-based authentication or a PIN-based authentication, customer who does not have education or a mobile phone can transact easily from an Agent point situated close to his residence.

Green IT:

Green IT refers the operation of IT to be conducted in such a manner that helps the overall reduction of external carbon emission and internal carbon footprint and also mitigate the risk for change of climate due to human activity. To comply Green IT, bank has adopted necessary technology, process and product which result substantial reduction of the carbon footprint as well as develop sustainable business.

Upcoming Projects:

Near Data Center:

A massive project for building a state of the art new Near Data Center (Near DC) has been taken. The Near DC will be connected to the DC in a sync mode with zero RPO i.e, there will have no data loss in case of failure of the DC or near DC.

Both the DC and the Near DC will run alternatively on monthly basis. This will improve the system down time occurs in the DC due to unavoidable circumstances like failure in cooling system, power system (ATS, Generator, UPS, MDB) or at any DC non-redundant component. International tenders have been floated by the Bank in this respect.

Queue Management System:

Dutch-Bangla Bank has started a project to setup Queue Management System in the branches to provide better customer service. The system has been installed and tested. Pilot branches have been identified and pilot run will start soon. Based on the feedback of these branches it will be rolled out to other branches in phases. After the project is completed it will help the bank in identifying the areas of customer service where we can improve. We shall also be able to identify which areas are the bottlenecks, which employees are performing well and who are not.

Document Management System:

It is a green IT project undertaken by the Bank. With the implementation of the Document Management System, it will not only reduce the hassle of storing huge paper documents, it will also improve the work efficiency with the use of Work Flow management. As for example, loan application processing, leave application etc. are expected to be processed through the work flow management. The software has been installed. The required processes have been identified. Customization of the software to accommodate the processes is going on.

Even More ATMs:

The population of ATM in the urban area is more than the rural area. There is always a demand for ATM in both the urban and rural area as all the customers wants to have an ATM within his/her walking distance. DBBL is, therefore, undertaken a plan to install another 2,000 units of ATM specially in the rural area.

In-house Software:

Dutch-Bangla Bank has developed a number of in-house software for various activities such as HRM, Inventory, Remittance Management, and Bangladesh Bank Reporting. In the upcoming years Dutch-Bangla Bank will continue its effort to develop many in-house software for the automation of it various activities.

Auto Bills pay using DBBL Cards:

For convenience of payment of utility bills, auto bills pay facilities are going to be extended at DBBL for its cardholders soon. The cardholder will once register with the bank for this service. Once registered, the cardholders’ recurring utility bills like post-paid mobile bills, and utility bills of WASA, DESCO etc. will be automatically paid from his card account.