02-22-2003, 12:00 AM
I generally agree with your opinion.
However, I think that companies have started realising the potential of ecommerce and electronic data interchange (EDI).
For example, there are many banks which are offering remote account management in the world since early 90s and a lot of companies are using these facilities for their treasury departments.
In Pakistan, I understand MCB started something like that... perhaps very primitive. I am not sure at what point it is now e.g. is B2B EDI allowed. Then you have Habib bank offering ebanking.
Then you have the citibank offering its ecard.
Things are rolling albeit slowly.
Apart from Bureaucratic red-tapism and self praise on generally nonissues, I think one of the main hurdles is that the driving force behind ecommerce at consumer level is credit cards. In our country these are still a symbol of status than a means of undertaking financial transactions for individuals. At corporate level, we still believe in cheque system whereas in a lot of European countries, it is discontinued and even banks are discouraging cheques. Transfers are increasingly by wire/SWIFT/remote account management, in europe a new bank account code system IBAN is being implemented which will harmonise account numbers for electronic processing.
So the future is bright. We will embrace ecommerce by desire or by force as more and more international transactions are undertaken electronically.
However, I think that companies have started realising the potential of ecommerce and electronic data interchange (EDI).
For example, there are many banks which are offering remote account management in the world since early 90s and a lot of companies are using these facilities for their treasury departments.
In Pakistan, I understand MCB started something like that... perhaps very primitive. I am not sure at what point it is now e.g. is B2B EDI allowed. Then you have Habib bank offering ebanking.
Then you have the citibank offering its ecard.
Things are rolling albeit slowly.
Apart from Bureaucratic red-tapism and self praise on generally nonissues, I think one of the main hurdles is that the driving force behind ecommerce at consumer level is credit cards. In our country these are still a symbol of status than a means of undertaking financial transactions for individuals. At corporate level, we still believe in cheque system whereas in a lot of European countries, it is discontinued and even banks are discouraging cheques. Transfers are increasingly by wire/SWIFT/remote account management, in europe a new bank account code system IBAN is being implemented which will harmonise account numbers for electronic processing.
So the future is bright. We will embrace ecommerce by desire or by force as more and more international transactions are undertaken electronically.
