The development of cards which can access different monetary services electronically has been the major boost to electronic commerce. Many computer users today are accessing commercial enterprises on the Internet, but millions more have indulged in a different form of electronic commerce simply by using their ATM card, debit card, or credit card in the course of daily business. The dissemination of such cards has been part of a long-term and evolving marketing strategy on the part of banks and other financial institutions to change the way people do business both with their banks and with retailers of various sorts. Some believe this could one day lead to a cashless society where all commerce is conducted through the use of plastic cards with electronic strips, perhaps with cards that have amounts embedded in them so that a purchase subtracts directly. These cards work because of a vast network of electronic connections, many by satellite, which allow for recording of transactions and near-instant transfer of money from one institution to another. The cards have been sold to the consumer on the basis of convenience, safety, and empowerment, and the overall campaign has been highly successful. The future likely holds wider dissemination, new forms of cards, use by other financial institutions, and greater societal reliance on electronic commerce.
The banking industry depends heavily on customer service at several levels and should be considered a service industry. The banking industry operated one way before the era of deregulation and has acted in a different way since, and though banks today charge more fees and actively seek ways to discourage customers from using certain services, they remain service-oriented industries. Customer service is defined in terms of service operations, and those operations are differentiated as to whether they are front-stage or back-stage. Front-stage operations are those experienced by the co...