Privatization of banks in Serbia and new generation banking products

Financial activities possess certain specificities compared to the real sector of the economy. These specificities, within the political and economic environment corresponding to the economy in transition, have influenced the manner, flow and quality of the privatization of banks in Serbia. The account statement of this segment of the transition process, almost twenty years after the formal beginning of the privatization of the banking sector in Serbia, clearly indicates that the number of banks has been largely reduced, that the structure of banks is dominated by foreign banks, but also that significant progress has been made in modernizing business processes. The Internet’s omnipresence has enabled a revolution in the services that banks provide to clients and firms, primarily through the automation of certain processes and implemetation of efficient software solutions based on web technologies. Via e-banking, clients are given insight into the current balance of accounts, cards and loans, or the realization of transactions or exchange without going to the bank, while m-banking popularization enables the use of a smartphone as an electronic wallet. New technologies have enabled the centralized collection and intersection of data from various sources, which makes it possible for the bank to gain insight into the clients’ finances and, based on this, to make a quality business decision.