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ublicly — listed Bank Permata (BNLI) says it will spend US$3 million to upgrade its electronic transactions system to boost Internet banking among its corporate customers this year.

Bank Permata, currently the nation’s eighth largest bank by assets, serves around 1,200 corporate clients in various areas, including the automotive, mining, food and beverage and construction sectors.

However, only 480 of Permata’s corporate clients actively used Internet banking, according to Bank Permata executive vice president for transaction banking Rudy Tandjung.

“The number is lower than those of multinational banks, but slightly above the figure of local industry,” Rudy said in Jakarta on Tuesday. “Our main challenge is to change customer mind-sets. While some are concerned about the system’s overall safety, others think it [Internet banking] is unnecessary because their parent companies do not use [it] either.”

The bank wants to increase its number of corporate customers by 10 percent to about 1,320 in 2013, 50 percent of who Permata hoped would become active Internet banking users, Rudy said. In the next two years, the bank wants 80 percent of its corporate customers to use Internet banking.

The bank will replace its current electronic transaction system this month. Bank Permata, jointly owned by the Astra Group conglomerate and Standard Chartered Bank, has chosen a vendor to install a new system, which it expects to have online within 12 to 18 months.

The new system was part of a push to find new clients and convince existing customers of the safety and efficiency of Internet banking’s safety and efficiency, according to Rudy. In general, he added, the bank charged 25 percent less for electronic transactions.

Growing Internet banking use is expected to increase Bank Permata’s corporate banking division’s fee-based income, which comprise various service fees, such as transaction banking, loan-related services and global market services, including foreign exchange.

Permata’s corporate fee-based income for 2012 may have grown by 25 percent over the 2011 figure, according to the bank. Declining to provide exact figures, Rudy said transaction banking contributed the most to revenue at 45 percent, followed by global markets at 35 percent and loans at 20 percent.

Corporate fee-based income is expected to climb 25 percent and comprise 28 percent of the bank’s total revenue in 2013.