The facets and economic benefits of the information communications technology and innovations used by commercial banks in Kenya
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Date
2011Author
Ondimu, Gladys M
Muganda, Nixon O
Magutu, Peterson O
Language
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The recent developments in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) have been received with
great interest in research and practice by the banking community the world over. There began to appear
theoretical arguments regarding the role of information technology (IT) in creating the value chain
at firms and this opened up new lines of inquiry. This paper was a survey on the business value of
information communication technologies in the financial departments of commercial banks in Kenya. In
recognizing the significance of ICT in economic stability and growth of a country, it should not be lost
on the consumers of the technologies that risks abound in every opportunity. It has also been noted that
the pace of legislating the sector much of the time is overtaken by technological advancements that are
directly linked to the banking sector. The research findings and recommendations are therefore expected
to assist in building into the ICT and business value at departmental level, as a body of knowledge. Data
was collected from a population that comprised of forty-four commercial banks incorporated and, or
licensed to operate in Kenya by 2007. It was found that the two commonly used technological tools in
cash management in the finance department are the financial software and e-banking. Also, the five key
economic benefits of the information communications technology and innovations that have accrued
to the commercial banks in Kenya at their finance departments include: ICT use has ensured proper
management of account balances at value dates; ICT has helped in the monitoring and optimization of
the sales-cash circuit; ICT has led to system responsiveness to changing user needs; and ICT has helped
in the coverage of exchange-rate risk.