Fintech opportunities like API banking, Blockchain, DevOps, Robo-Advisory are generating interest for the Indian CIOs in the banking Industry. The soon to be launched payment banks will also influence the dynamics of banking in India
The Indian Fintech companies are actively partnering with the banks to provide them the required edge and speciality required in the wake of the changing technology landscape. Yes Bank has teamed up with T-Hub to support fintech startups. HDFC Bank recently organised a digital Innovation summit to shortlist five fintech companies to leverage their expertise. IndusInd bank has tied up with PayU, an online payment solution firm. RBL bank has joined hands with Eko to launch a semi-closed prepaid wallet. ICICI bank plans to partner with fintech companies. The bank, in order to woo them had organised an appathon. SBI plans to incubate startups in the FinTech space.
Factors influencing fintech startups in India
The rising disposable income of the average Indian, the massive financial inclusion drive through the government led social programmes is influencing the Indian Fintech space. These companies are acting as disruptors. It’s not only them but also the soon to be launched payment banks. The banking industry surprisingly is also being challenged by companies which are from altogether different businesses – mobile operators, apple, google and retailers.
The potential for fintech has all the more increased due to the Government pushing hard the Digital India programme, launch of NPCI’s Unified Payment Interface etc. “The Indian government’s approach is different from other governments towards digitalisation,” says Prakash Kini, Practice Principal, Thoughtworks.
Technology is changing bank’s businesses and it’s also evolving. The technology strategy is becoming equal to business strategy. IT is disrupting business models. The banks that will respond appropriately stands a chance to have the sustainability they have experienced thus far. Amit Tare, Delivery Lead, ThoughtWorks said, “the banks should up their innovation quotient by taking a more collaborative approach trying to supplement and complement the strengths of the fintech community. The banks in the west have set up innovation centers; the usage of DevOps for continuous improvement for swift response to customer grievances should be adopted. The design thinking concept for better customer experience has a huge potential. Banks in the west have started testing the blockchain technology. They have been arranging Hackathons to explore newer options,” he was talking during the recently concluded Fintech roundtable, ‘The Fintech Revolution – a game changer for financial services?’ organised by ThoughtWorks.
Emerging Fintech on the horizon
Robo-Adviser has been raising immense amount of curiosity in India. Robo-Advisors are algorithmic based automated investment solutions “More and more Indian companies are asking for case studies in Robo-Advisers. Telematics has also been creating a buzz. Usage of it for auto insurance has been the norm. However now, more enquiries are coming for how it can be used for health insurance. The businesses are beginning to reimagine their business models because of the availability of technology,” says Jayesh Ghatge, business leader and market partner – India, ThoughtWorks.
Zerodha, a retail brokerage house has designed – “Kite Connect”, an HTTP trading API, “It is a part of the “Kite” trading platform, which lets technically savvy users fully personalise their investing and trading experience without having to depend on the trading frontends offered by the brokerage house. “The APIs liberate the data belonging to users into their own hands, which would otherwise be locked inside our software. Moreover, the APIs let startups build investment platforms over our infrastructure, a kind of a “broking as a platform” setup, which opens up a whole lot of possibilities,” says Dr. Kailash Nadh, Head of Technology, Zerodha.