How Banks are Using Digital Technology in 2018

Back in the age when we used to have Barter system for transfer of value, we never would have imagined that we move on from exchanging just about anything tangible to using intangible means of value exchange. But here we are standing in the digital era with digital banking industry growing along with mobile app development companies like anything.According to a report by Juniper Research, digital banking would have more than 3 billion users by the end of 2021. This, it says, on the basis of ongoing proliferation of smartphones right before our eyes, and as predicted by Statista , the world would have 2.87 billion smartphone users by the end of 2020.

These figures have provided banks with the confidence to think futuristically for expansion in services and facilities. And one of the most direct impacts of the rise in digital technology has allowed digital banking to grow exponentially in the past few years. The adoption rate of digital banking is breaking its own records, and today we have some of the banks that are most enthusiastically equipping their infrastructure with digital technologies. And in 2018, we have some of the most premium banks adopting digital technology in their very own ways.

ICICI joins hands with Zoho

One of the two Domestic Systematically Important Banks (DSIBs), ICICI recently joined hands with tech expert Zoho in a move to digitize its services by an even higher degree. And the product Zoho has developed for ICICI Bank is ‘Zoho Books’, which is an accounting software that integrates a customer’s accounting panel with the bank’s payments platform.

Zoho Books is basically a B2B software that connects a business customer’s accounting panel with ICICI and automates it up to a large extent, with operations like automated reconciliation, eased up applying for loan capitals, automated payments, account maintenance and much more through a single portal. A ‘one-of-its-kind’, Zoho Books is a perfect fit for the accounting needs of small and medium enterprises and allows these businesses to use a single point of operation for all their needs.

UnionBank launches a pilot Digital Branch with VR capabilities

One of the biggest banks in the world, UnionBank recently launched it’s high on digital’ pilot bank branch with VR stations that allow people to select their loan plans and can get briefed on the procedure. The bank feels felt that the concept of bank tellers is outdated and we need better solutions to replace that. Moreover, as people are more digitally aware than before, UnionBank has iPads for customers on which they can carry out transactions, register loan inquiries, check balances and do much more than standing in a queue.

Equitas Banks launched Digital Saving Account

In the past few years, we have seen banks optimizing their operations and processes to introduce features that customers can directly benefit from. In a quest to achieve, Chennai-based Equitas Small Finance Bank (ESAF) recently launched ‘Selfesavings’ digital savings accounts. The USP of this move by Equitas is that not only a customer can register instantly for this digital savings account, they can even start using it right away. As per the bank officials, ESAF aims to engage a much wider base of customers by providing them with the freedom to enjoy instant account opening with a relatively smaller set of documents including Aadhaar number, PAN, and basic information.

Another factor that the bank is confident about pulling leads in is that there is no minimum balance requirement for the account, gives an interest at the rate of 6% per annum for below Rs. 10 lakh and 6.5% on deposits above Rs. 10 lakhs. With the help of top iOS and Android app development companies in India, ESAF has also launched its apps, which will be updated with this control features for this type of account too. Even in terms of digital services, the banks give provides customers with the same digital banking facilities as for a normal customer, such as IMPS, NEFT, RTGS, and a Virtual Debit card.