Finacle Blog

Reportedly, 1 in 8 customers in the United States switched their primary bank in 2011. While the most common reason for the move was a change in life circumstances, customers also switched "because of fees and rates, unmet expectations, and poor service".

With plenty of retail banks vying for their attention, consumers today are spoilt for choice.  If they see greater value elsewhere, they shift right away, without any hesitation.  Customer retention has therefore become a key priority for most retail banks.

Continue reading "What Next for Personalized Banking?" »

Posted by TC Dinesh at 4:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There was a time when banks were revered institutions. Then the financial tsunami struck towards the end of the last decade, wiping away profitability and entire banks, even. There was one more casualty - the once sacrosanct client-bank relationship. Five years later, while many banks continue to grapple for a solution to restore customer trust, several smart banks have already set a new template, focusing on customers, technology, channels and risk management.

Continue reading "Drivers of Banking Rejuvenation" »

Posted by Ashit Gandhotra at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In an earlier post, I talked of how the Unfair, Deceptive and Abusive Acts and Practices (UDAAP) rule had forced U.S. banks into a corner. As the authority charged with implementing these provisions, the newly constituted Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is on the industry's radar.

One of CFPB's top priorities is to reassess all the disclosures that the law requires banks to provide. This includes mortgage, credit card and student loan disclosures. In addition, the CFPB has also announced its intent to write rules impacting mortgage servicing.

Continue reading "New Regulator, New Disclosures" »

Posted by Meg Sczyrba at 5:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Unfair, Deceptive or Abusive Acts and Practices (UDAAP) provision under the Dodd Frank Act has U.S. banks stepping gingerly. A lot of that has to do with the fact that none of the three operative words - deceptive, unfair and abusive - is concretely defined.  Rather, banks are left to glean the meaning of the loosely worded standards contained in the relevant regulatory policy statements such as those written by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and the banking regulators - all of which leaves plenty of room for interpretation.   (For example, a deceptive act is one where there is a material representation, omission or practice which is likely to mislead consumers who are acting reasonably in the circumstances presented.)

Continue reading "UDAAP: Unfair Practices Targeted" »

Posted by Meg Sczyrba at 5:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

India vs. Bharat, a hot topic of debate.  And rightly so. 70% of our people live in rural India - Bharat - and it is a fact that the India growth story has not improved their lives as much as it should have. That is evident in the urban-rural disparity in socio-economic indicators, including access to financial services.

To be fair, the banking sector has made some efforts to set right this imbalance. For instance, the RBI issues new private bank licenses only on the condition that 25% of the branches will be set up in unbanked rural areas. Public sector banks need to earmark 40% of their net deposits for priority lending. Institutions like Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Co-operative banks, Micro Finance institutions and NABARD focus on providing financial access to underserved regions.

Continue reading "Rural Banking in India: Setting Right the Imbalance" »

Posted by Deepak Sinha at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

You can build your own Mustang on the Ford website. From top to bottom. I wonder what Henry Ford, the man who gave us the assembly line would say to that. Remember his legendary words: "Any customer can have a car painted any color he wants so long as it is black."?

 

A couple of hundred years after mass production technology changed the game, it seems to be making way for a new manufacturing paradigm - that of mass customization. No surprise, once again it's a new technology that's responsible. 3-D printing is debunking economy of scale by making it feasible to produce goods, piece by unique piece. And it's put the customer - not the production line - firmly in charge of the design/consumption decision.

Continue reading "From Personalization to Standardization and Back, Banking Comes Full Circle" »

Posted by Amit Dua at 4:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My earliest impression of banking was shaped by a branch manager in a venerable State-owned Bank that my family had favored for generations. I don't know how he did it, but he knew almost every customer - and there were thousands - by name and made each one feel valued. This, at a time when technology hadn't yet made its way to the branch!

 

Decades later, banks are striving to restore that same old intimacy with customers by recognizing each one as unique, a "segment of one" to be plied with personalized services.

Continue reading " Bring Old World Intimacy to New Age Banking" »

Posted by Amit Dua at 4:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Marjala Nyaya - Markata Nyaya" is a concept in Hindu philosophy, in which the contrasting parenting approach of the cat and monkey species is used as a metaphor for different paths of devotion. But it could just as easily be talking of more worldly matters, so aptly does it describe two current politico-economic schools of thought.

 

The first of these is Big Brother (BB) Economics, the economic equivalent of "cat parenting", wherein a big brother or welfare state or benefactor of any other kind is fully responsible for looking after its charge.  Think back to the U.S. of the 1920s and 30s, when the Government was the biggest source of succor for a nation steeped in crisis.

 

Continue reading "Of Big Brothers, YoYos and Animal Species" »

Posted by Rajashekara V. Maiya at 5:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For as long as I can remember, banks trailed other industries in the race of innovation and changeability, and got away with it. It was like they were in a contest all on their own, in which entry barriers kept both external competition and its twin force, consumer power, at a safe distance.

 

How things have changed in recent years. The Internet-telecom combine has thrown the contest open and let consumers dictate the pace.

Continue reading "Sprint, Leapfrog, Hurdle: A Race for Survival" »

Posted by Rajashekara V. Maiya at 4:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There's a different kind of global warming taking place, and it's in the regulatory environment. We're seeing authorities in jurisdictions around the world step up regulatory scrutiny and consumer protection. Some countries, like the United Kingdom, are even overhauling their regulatory structure - the FSA will be dismantled and responsibility for prudential supervision returned to the Bank of England, which will be supported by a new independent authority in charge of consumer protection.

Continue reading "Compliance for Tomorrow's Bank" »

Posted by Stuart Lehr at 5:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)