Spreading and using Internet Banking by businesses in Vlora district.

The purpose of this study is to show the spread of using Internet Banking by businesses in Vlora region. Internet Banking is relatively a new service in Albanian market. It has started in 2002, firstly offered by Intesa San Paolo Bank Albania, but only nearly a decade ago started to be offered by the main banks of our bank system. In 10 years of activity, the main focus of Internet Banking and the first users was businesses, not individuals. Only recently it is concentrated to individuals too. This is because of the spread of Internet by cellular companies to individuals during the last decade. To better understand the actual situation, it is formulated a questionnaire which is spread to administrators/owners of 30 businesses located in Vlora region, with legal form of limited liability company, contacted through phone and e-mail during the period November 2018-February 2019. After data processing, results that all businesses included are registered at least at one account of Internet Banking services, regardless the level of use. This is the first quantitative result of bank campaigns that operates in Albanian market, motivated by the competition with each other and technological development, for Albanian business to access deeply in Internet Banking. Businesses included in the study use mostly Internet Banking for transactions that are considered by most of them as safest and simplest. Whereas transactions such as international transfers, tax payments, salaries and contributes of employees continue to execute by most of businesses only at bank counters. Businesses are facing difficulties using Internet Banking, such as not understanding the financial concepts by users which haven't an economic background. The main profit valuated by businesses it is not cost reduce as might be expected. Businesses see as advantage the time they earn by avoiding the crowd and especially the possibility of doing the transactions out of official timetable of banks. We are far away of using Internet Banking in all transactions of businesses during their day to day activities because of restrictions of the offers of this service (banks) and restrictions of their consumers (businesses), even thought in base of businesses responses of this study, the ice is broken. Businesses in Vlora region can serve as representative sample for all Albanian businesses.