Interviews

Neo-banking has its own set of advantages, but it may not completely replace traditional banking in India

Over the last two years, banks have undergone a significant transformation and have adopted technology in a big way. In conversation with CXOToday, Kunal Nagarkatti, CEO, Clover Infotech sheds light on developments in the sector

 

  1. What impact have ‘managed service providers’ had on the digital transformation of the banking and financial services sector over the last two years?

Banking and financial services is a transaction-oriented sector. Hence, they have always been keen to adopt the latest technologies to streamline their business processes. Post the pandemic, this trend has only accelerated.

 

As managed services providers (MSPs) for the BFSI sector, our primary role has been to ensure that our customers’ IT landscape, which includes applications and the underlying infrastructure, run seamlessly. We support our customers in innovating and enhancing the way experience is being delivered across channels.

We also ensure seamless functioning of enterprise applications across core-banking, lending, treasury, ERP, CRM, etc. In addition, we have initiated various offerings under our ‘Transform the business/bank’ initiatives. Under this, we try to enhance operational efficiencies at these institutions by leveraging our expertise across RPA, Cybersecurity, next-gen database management, digital and cloud services.

 

  1. How have technological developments benefited a market that has always placed a high value on face-to-face interactions with customers?

We must understand that technology is an enabler that helps banking and financial institutions to enhance their offerings in terms of on-boarding, account opening, underwriting, loans and capital requirements and customer engagement. However, it is still not a substitute for face-to-face interactions. It complements the high value face-to-face interactions with very agile and efficient virtual touchpoints which ensures consistent communication about new products, and regular updates on services.

 

  1. Will traditional banks someday be completely replaced by neo-banking?

While neo-banking brings its own set of advantages in terms of ensuring very prudent Capex and Opex, it may not completely replace traditional banking in a country like India. The reason is that our population is in various stages of financial literacy and inclusion. Since a huge part of the population is still unbanked or underbanked, the new customers would feel more comfortable in being ushered into the ambit of financial inclusion through traditional banking. Also, while we have a lot of young adults and millennials, there is still a significant population of Gen X and Baby Boomers, who may have a lot of inertia towards concepts such as neo-banking and would still prefer traditional banking over it.

 

  1. How has Clover Infotech driven digital solutions for banks that you work with?

We are MSPs for leading banks in the country. As a practice, we have monthly service reviews for enhancing service excellence and for bringing about transformation across the various facets of technology within the bank. As part of our mission to modernize the applications and infrastructure landscape of the banks, we have introduced digital solutions in the realm of process automation, experience management, risk management & analytics, cybersecurity, cloud services, and autonomous databases.

 

  1. Concerns about automation leading to job redundancy are raised as institutions undergo a digital revolution. How crucial is it that staff upskill to stay up-to-date with these developments?

We must understand that the objective of automation is to ensure that the rule-based, redundant, and repetitive processes are automated. This enables the human capital in the organization to focus on more meaningful roles such as learning new and advanced technologies, managing projects, and graduating to leadership roles. If a company builds a good automation charter and executes it well within timelines, it can create a workforce which is smarter and more equipped. This will enable it to derive more value per employee in terms of revenue, operational excellence, customer management, and other critical areas of business.

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