As BFSI industry goes on an uptrend, spending lavishly on IT solutions, company’s innovative offerings see a huge acceptability in the sector, Amit Chowdry, CEO, PeopleLink, tells Rachita Jha of Elets News Network (ENN)
What is your outlook for the BFSI sector?
India is a fast growing IT market and the BFSI vertical contributes 11.1 percent of the total Rs30.4 billion domestic IT spend. This vertical has been on a growth trajectory with its innovative products and platforms such as mobile banking, rapid geographic expansion plans, Centre’s focus on financial inclusion. Besides, the entry of foreign banks is spurring renewed investments in India in the BFSI sector. The Indian banking industry, which aims at becoming the fifth-largest industry by 2020, has a current worth of Rs81 trillion (US$1.31 trillion), and the banks are now utilising the latest technologies like internet and mobile devices to carry out transactions and communicate with the masses.
What are the products on offer from PeopleLink?
PeopleLink, with its comprehensive banking solutions, has meticulously developed its products by keeping the Indian BFSI industry in mind. Our portfolio offers customised video banking solutions to revive customers’ personal banking experience, create branchless units for expanding the reach of banks and set up personalised contact centers for enabling video interface on kiosks to achieve unmanned banking units, among others.
PeopleLink video conferencing can operate even on low bandwidths and has the potential to facilitate expansion plans of the banks in rural areas, which in turn will promote the government schemes offering banking facility even in remote places, providing financial security to the rural folk.
What will work as growth drivers for the video conferencing solutions in the BFSI sector?
The sector’s growth can be attributed to banks’ shifting focus to client servicing. Public as well as private sector banks are underlining the importance of technology infrastructure in order to improve customer experience and gain a competitive edge. Cashing in on the popularity of internet and mobile banking, banks are increasingly adopting various enterprise grade IT solutions to achieve a larger coverage and true financial inclusion.
Tell us about some innovative technology adoptions by PeopleLink that have been used by BFSI sector.
PeopleLink holds a strong credential in the BFSI vertical by enabling various banks and financial institutions to achieve greater productivity through the use of our video conferencing products. We have enabled the largest banking institution, the State Bank of India, in connecting their multiple locations seamlessly using our video conferencing offering for the launch of their new branches.
What holds the banks from adopting technological advancements at the desired pace, and what is the role of regulators in this regard?
The banking and insurance industry is facing challenges on account of competitive pressures, changes in customer loyalty, stringent regulatory environment and entry of new players — all of which are pressuring the organisations to adopt new business models, streamline operations and improve processes. Along with the regulators, who are constantly working on norms-related issues in consultation with the banking institutions, banks are also working on gaining competitive edge, adopting customer-centric business models and reaching out to under-banked regions. PeopleLink solutions have been developed keeping these hurdles in mind to offer the banks a single solution with all these benefits.
What is the company’s dream project for the BFSI industry?
PeopleLink has always worked towards synchronising its offerings with the government policies and be a part of the Digital India initiative of the Centre. We have solutions, which have been extensively tested in the Indian market under actual bandwidth conditions. Our most ideal dream project would be to be a part of the financial inclusion projects of various public and private banks to serve the low-income segments of the society through visual collaboration at affordable costs. With our capability of connecting on low bandwidths and data cards, we will play a key role in implementing visual banking services.
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