`OmniBOB' covers several communications-based products launched by BoB - from `Anywhere' to `Anytime'. The products include `AnyBOB'- `Any Branch Banking Package'; `DialBOB', a tele-banking package and `ConnectBOB', a PC-banking package covering about 11 branches in Ahmedabad.

BoB has a card-base of 3,000 and plans to have a base of 15,000 by March 2001. At present, the bank has an intra-city `Any Branch Banking' offering, which will be tested for inter-city transactions by March 2001. On an average, BoB has made this facility available in 53 branches and plans to offer the same in 250 branches by March 2001.

Said BoB's deputy general manager for information technology, V Chandrashekhar: "Unlike IDBI Bank's `Money-Smart', which is used for e-cash applications, `AnyBOB Card' is an on-line smart cum debit-card, which can be used for customer authentication and multi-purpose applications. `AnyBOB' provides customers with the facility to withdraw cash and deposit of cash at any branch and also balance-enquiry. It uses smart-card based authentication technology for its implementation."

Differentiating between BOB's smart-card and an ordinary debit-card, Mr Chandrashekhar said: "`AnyBOB Card' is more secure than a normal magnetic-stripe based debit or a credit-card. A little amount of technical wizadry can read or clone information written on the magnetic-stripe based debit or credit-card. Whereas, in the case of `AnyBoB Card', unless the digital signature is known, information cannot be decoded. There is an intelligence built into the card wherein the processor inside the smart-chip interprets and behaves as per the application requirement. One can also carry multiple applications like debit, credit, ATM in just one card".

Elucidating further on the mechanism of `AnyBOB card', Mr Chandrashekhar said: "Earlier, there used be ambiguity in the method of authentication as signatures could not be verified without connectivity in other branches. But with `Any Branch Banking', BoB decided to use smart-cards for authentication."