Ghana Commercial Bank Limited (GCB) on Wednesday launched a new worldwide electronic banking and financial service to enable customers undertake transactions from their homes and offices. Known as "Commernet" the product would provide customers access to their financial account, access to secondary account information data and easy and rapid communication between customers and the bank through a computer and a phone connection.

Mrs Grace Coleman, Deputy Minister of Finance, noted that in this era of information superhighway, any institution that failed to merge service delivery and distribution points through electronic means would not be able to compete effectively on the ever-changing financial scene.

GCB is the third bank in the country to introduce such a service. The first two were Barclays Bank and SSB Bank.

She cautioned players in the banking industry to recognise the intervention of information technology as crucial to banking services because it enhances quick, reliable and quality service.

"Today's busy and sophisticated customer is exposed to a variety of services and, therefore, has the power to choose. This is the reason why it is important to do all things to retain and attract new ones through new product development."

By this new product, Mrs Coleman said, GCB was establishing a partnership with its customers through the use of technology, where customers could manage their own finances from their homes and offices.

Mr Emmanuel Asiedu-Mante, Deputy Governor of Bank of Ghana, said for Commernet to be successful there was the need to constantly monitor, evaluate and assess it in terms of its benefits to customers, GCB and the economy as a whole.

He said in order to ensure that the financial system remained stable and efficient, regulatory and supervisory laws would have to be enacted to respond to current developments in terms of establishing effective controls of the technological systems.

Mr Asiedu-Mante said the Bank of Ghana would offer the necessary guidance and support, adding that it would monitor the products to ensure customer's safety.

"The Central Bank will continue to encourage the development and introduction of new products by banks, especially products geared towards developing a cashless system..."

Mr Kwabena Dapaah-Siakwan, Deputy Managing Director of GCB, said the ambition of the bank was "to sustain the market leadership, no more no less".

"To us market leadership means having the highest share of economic profit, not necessarily the largest share of volume, customers and products," he said.

Mr Dapaah-Siakwan said the key to creating superior customers was to find new, different and better ways of serving them.