FinTechs play an extremely important role in today’s banking ecosystem. They not only help bring products to market faster but also help keep service costs down, shared Rajesh Choudhary, Chief Information Officer, CSB Bank, in an exclusive interaction with Srajan Agarwal of Elets News Network (ENN).
The SBS 2030 initiative seems like a bold and transformative step for CSB Bank. Can you explain how rebuilding the bank’s tech stack aligns with this vision?
At CSB Bank, we are executing the strategy SBS 2030 (Sustain-Build-Scale by 2030). As part of this strategy, CSB Bank will become a mid of mid-sector bank by 2030. Our IT Strategy is tightly aligned with SBS 2030. We are rebuilding the entire technology stack for the bank. Our IT strategy is to build the Modular, Resilient & Agile Technology Stack for “next” 10 Years to Deliver an Exuberant Customer Experience through Digital & AI. Our IT Strategy has 3 dimensions:
- Build the Technology Core – To Build the New Data Centres, Core Banking systems, Payment and Channel Systems, Lending Systems, Customer Onboarding Systems, Trade Finance systems, HR, Finance, Risk, Compliance Systems etc. In summary, we are rebuilding all the systems necessary to build a bank. We are adopting Micro Services, STP (Straight Through Processing), AI (Artificial Intelligence), Cloud (Private, Public, Hybrid, SaaS, PaaS, IaaS) and DevSecOps, wherever, applicable, and relevant.
- Build Digital First Solutions—To make all bank products and services available on all bank channels for our customers and partners, facilitating an omnichannel experience.
- Build for the future– Building Data platforms and Analytics for predictability and customer personalisation. To develop downstream applications using customer data for cross-sell, upsell, campaigns, offers etc. We are taking advantage of being late entrant and using learnings from other banks for our benefit.
Cybersecurity is a growing concern in today’s banking environment. What cybersecurity strategies have CSB Bank adopted as part of its transformation journey to ensure data protection and risk management?
We have built a robust cybersecurity ecosystem for the bank to safeguard the bank, our customers and bank staff through a team of cyber security experts using modern tech, cyber security policies and cybersecurity framework.
CSB bank has invested in various tools and technologies to increase its security posture. Cloud and On-Prem DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service), Deception Solutions, Database activity monitoring (DAM) solutions, Cloud and On-Prem WAF (Web Application Firewall), Security Operations Center (SOC), and Firewall Analyzer are some of the advanced technologies that we have implemented and are live in production. We have VA (Vulnerability Assessment) Scanner and PT (Penetration Testing) tools to fast-track the VA/PT for the new systems and periodic scans of the existing systems.
We re-visit our Cybersecurity strategy at regular intervals to do the re-alignment with the changing world trends and threats.
With the growing fintech ecosystem, how do you envision collaborations with
fintech companies fitting into CSB Bank’s technology strategy? What value do these partnerships bring to the bank and its customers?
FinTechs play an extremely important role in today’s banking ecosystem. They not only help in bringing in the faster time to market but also to keep the costs of the services down.
Partnerships is at the core of the SBS2030 strategy. To facilitate seamless integrations with the partners, the Bank has invested in building the API ecosystem in the bank. This has helped us partner with the FinTechs to acquire new customers to enhance the business. With a short rollout time and customer acquisition in mind, CSB Bank has partnered with FinTechs to offer co-branded credit cards to customers. This has helped the bank to have its own credit card offering in the market in a very short period. We have acquired thousands of customers in a short period.
We are further working with multiple other FinTechs in securities, lending and other areas to strengthen our retail portfolio.
As part of the tech stack rebuild, what are the key technologies or systems that CSB Bank is focusing on to ensure it becomes a new-age bank by 2030?
We have built four state-of-the-art Data Centres in Mumbai and Chennai to provide seamless experience to our customer and to have resiliency. We are among the early adopters of the modern and advanced Private Cloud Appliances from Oracle. We have also built software defined data centre for agility.
We are currently implementing the new and modern Flexcube Core Banking System suite, new Payments, Channels, and Trade Finance from Oracle. Along with new Core Banking, we are implementing a robust financial management system OGL (Oracle General Ledger) and the Risk management system OFSAA to facilitate the right risk management and decision making.
We are also completing the implementation of our Lending Systems this year. The bank is
building its Distribution channels and adding new products at the same time. Country-wide strong Distribution channel with Modern Technology stack will help the bank to grow the number of customers and provide exuberant services to our customers.
In addition to the above, we are also rebuilding our enterprise system stack with Human
Capital Management, Fraud Risk Management, Compliance Management System, and Early Warning System to name a few. All these are state- of-the-art, advanced technology systems which will ensure not only the stability of the bank but also help leapfrog the bank in the new-age bank.
Digital banking is becoming a core offering across the industry. How is CSB Bank innovating in the digital space, and what can customers expect in terms of new digital services and products?
A lot is being done in the digital space. A New Digital Banking engine, OBDX is being implemented along with new Core Banking system. This will provide a strong foundation for our Digital ambition. We are also enhancing user experience through UI/UX on our customer channels. We have already revamped our Corporate net banking stack.
Digital lending is another area where a lot of innovation is expected.
We are digitizing our contact centre. To Enhance Customer Experience, we are implementing Customer 360 in the bank. This will help us by consolidating all customer-related information in one place viz, products subscribed from the bank, Current balances, complaints logged, recent transactions, channel visits etc. Going forward, whenever a customer visits our branch or contact centre, a bank officer will pull out the Customer 360 to provide an enhanced service experience to our customers.
Looking ahead, what are some of the key milestones CSB Bank aims to achieve under the SBS 2030 initiative in terms of technology development and customer experience transformation?
Within the next 12 months, our new Core Banking, Digital Channels, Trade Finance, Risk Management, Finance Management and other critical systems will go live. This will establish
a strong foundation for CSB Bank to grow the business. We are focusing immensely on customer experience to provide a differentiated experience to our customers through a new Digital Banking engine and UI/UX layer.
Our Data and Analytics stack is being engineered currently. This will help us to provide personalised service to our customers and to get new customers.
We are targeting to be the best mid-sector bank through the successful implementation of SBS 2030 strategy.
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