What Bulgarian Banks offer via Internet: an Overview (v2)

The new information technologies adoption and e-commerce emergence change the role of financial intermediaries in new E-conomy. During the last years, the bank started an expansion to the web – they offer broad range of traditional bank products and services via Internet. The remote banking become one of the main channels for bank services distribution. The Internet expansion of the Bulgarian banks is at its beginning. The showed results are based on the Internet research, which has aimed to describe actual picture of Bulgarian banks present in Internet.Banks, Internet, Online services, Online banking, E-commerce, Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Banks' competitiveness: the case of Remote banking

The new information technologies adoption and e-commerce emergence change the role of financial intermediaries in new E-conomy. During the last years, the banks have started an expansion to the web – they offer broad range of traditional bank products and services via Internet. The remote banking becomes one of the main channels for bank services distribution. This paper presents results from a research, which aims to describe actual picture of remote banking products and services offered by Bulgarian banks. They are estimated in accordance with the criteria as: web site availability; information for bank products and services available via Internet; online application forms; online banking application; other online/remote services. In spite of the small number of Bulgarian banks, which offer their products and services via Internet, the research shows that Bulgarian banks as a whole are presented in Internet, as well as indicates that banks estimate the potential and competitive advantages of the new medium.Banks, Internet, Online services, Remote banking, E-commerce, Bulgaria

Evolution and Present Status of Bulgarian Card Market

Bulgaria is a small South-eastern European country with a population of 8 million inhabitants in economic transition. During the bank crisis (1996-97) about 1/3 of all banks went bankrupt. On 5 July 1997, the Bulgarian government, jointly with IMF, introduced the Currency Board Arrangement, which lead to economic stabilization and growth. During the last four years the Bulgarian card market has expanded rapidly. The article reviews the evolution and the present status of the Bulgarian card market. The first trials to introduce cards in Bulgaria and to establish national card networks were made by three private banks. After 1992, the First Private Bank, the TouristSportBank, and the BalkanBank started their own networks; the first two based them on cards with a magnetic strip, while the BalkanBank used smart cards.payment cards, Bulgaria

An electrochemical and surface analytical study of the formation of nanoporous oxides on niobium

In the present paper, the anodization of Nb in mixed sulphate + fluoride electrolytes resulting in the formation of a nanoporous oxide film has been studied. Chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy have been employed to characterise in situ the kinetics of the oxidation process. In addition, the evolution of the layer structure and morphology has been followed by ex situ scanning electron microscopy. Particularly, local electrochemical impedance spectroscopy has been used to discern between the mesoscopic 2D and 3D distributions of time constants at the electrode surface. The similarity between local and global impedance spectra during anodic oxidation of Nb demonstrates the presence of an inherent 3D distribution of the high-frequency time constant, which is interpreted as in-depth variation of the steady state conductivity of the passive film. The experimental and calculational results are discussed in relation to the micro- and nanoscopic structure of the formed oxide