Nothing new in it that J&K Bank’s digital transaction systems cease to function all of a sudden only to leave customer’s fuming day in day out and that too 2-3 times in a month. While complications in finacle system shuts down business operations in bank branches across the country, the disruptions in the working of mpay app launched three years back for facility of online money transactions to customers ceases to function 2-3 times in a month and such disruption on the eve of religious festivals like Eid and Holi cause a great deal of inconvenience to customers. Unfortunately even most of the ATMs of J&K Bank cease to function day in and day out both within and outside Jammu & Kashmir. Unfortunately the bank has reduced even the salaries of ATM guards. Obviously the bank’s IT department is to be blamed for these technical faults which hugely disrupt the business operations of the bank across the country. Such technical disruptions on the eve of the commencement of annual Hajj pilgrimage and amid preparations for the start of annual amaranth yatra have caused great deal of inconvenience to people within and outside Jammu & Kashmir. Administrative wisdom demands that Chairman of the Bank reviews the working of the bank’s IT department for the purposes of fixing responsibility on the authorities overseeing the digital transaction systems of the bank. While Government officials are now even dismissed from services on the grounds of poor performance, no such system of accountability has been put in place in the J&K Bank for the purposes of improvement in the delivery of services to the people both at the bank branches and as well as bank’s online business transaction platforms. In fact the customer satisfaction has to be the priority of any bank and same holds good for J&K Bank. Interestingly few years back J&K Bank had thrown big challenges to the leading banks of the country and was in strong competition with country’s top banks like State Bank Of India.
Agreed that for upgrading financle system 7 to 10 bank had to put it’s business transactions on suspension mode but 50% of the bank branches could have operated on financle system 7 to reduce the intensity of the inconvenience to customers and these 50% branches could have been upgraded to finacle system 10 in the next phase. Unplanned and unwise downgrading of all the business branches of the bank has badly damaged the reputation of the bank and customers out of desperation may prefer to move to other banks in short time. Immediate course correction in both digital and conventional business transaction system is the only way to restore the reputation of the J&K Bank.
True it is that successive popular governments of erstwhile J&K state spoiled J&K Bank by employing people in the bank on the grounds of political affiliations but the basic system of the business transactions could have been improved in the bank after the replacement of those responsible for ruining the bank under the influence of popular governments of erstwhile state. Agreed that for upgrading financle system 7 to 10 bank had to put it’s business transactions on suspension mode but 50% of the bank branches could have operated on financle system 7 to reduce the intensity of the inconvenience to customers and these 50% branches could have been upgraded to finacle system 10 in the next phase. Unplanned and unwise downgrading of all the business branches of the bank has badly damaged the reputation of the bank and customers out of desperation may prefer to move to other banks in short time. Immediate course correction in both digital and conventional business transaction system is the only way to restore the reputation of the J&K Bank.
