Page 49 - Banking Finance June 2021

INTERVIEW

deliver more value for their customers without sacrificing
Banks are therefore not just their profitability.

partnering with fintechs but with Big
Q: How do your products and solutions enable
Tech companies too. In turn, organizations to adopt a customer first strategy
customers will soon see the entry of and exponentially increase revenue and customer
base?
non-traditional players in banking, A: Our solutions are designed for the complete customer
like Google, Facebook and Amazon. experience orchestration. From a customer point of view,
they want to know why they should be charged, whether
they are being charged transparently, how they can save
a business will be in creating value for itself and for its
money, how they can get customized offers and so on.
customers. Pricing is also the final determinant of value
exchange. If the price is set too high as compared to the We have a solution designed for deals and offers
perceived value of a product, there will be fewer or no management, and yet another solution designed for product
customers. On the other hand, if the price is set low, the rationalization, which helps prevent the customer churn and
business will have lower profits. Another important factor minimizes the cost of servicing legacy products that are
is the context of the consumption. For instance, the value perhaps offering lower value to the customers.
of a bottle of water will increase exponentially for a person In essence, our products and solutions help banks design and
in a desert as compared to those who have an abundance manage a customer-centric product portfolio, price their
of water around them. So human emotions also play a role. products attractively in order to maximise value for
Getting the billing systems right is in fact critical, because everyone, and finally optimise their partner ecosystem and
even a tiny discrepancy at the backend can lead to revenue their billing process. They allow banks to go beyond their
leakage and drain the profitability. For example, if a bank market offerings and tap into the industry's broader
with 10 million customers is losing on average just Rs. 0.25 ecosystem to serve, satisfy, and grow their customer base.
of say half of its customers per month, it is still losing Rs.
1.25 million per month or Rs. 15 million every year, which is Q: With COVID 19 the Digital Transformation
a drain on its profitability. journey of most of the banks seems to have
gathered momentum, what are the customer-
Plugging this leakage often necessitates taking advantage
of modern technology to craft and offer the right product facing trends that may emerge over the next 6-8
at the right price to the customer. Also, banks are quarters?
increasingly realising that in today's hypercompetitive A: Banks are today busy reinventing their business and
environment, when technology is a great equaliser, they revenue models on account of the widespread disruption
need to start adding external partners to their systems in caused by the pandemic. One of the most striking trends
order to offer more value to the customer. We're seeing this that we're seeing is greater collaboration, even among
transition with some of our banking customers, who have competing players inside the banking ecosystem, as banks
built an ecosystem play with a variety of external businesses look to shore up competitive differentiation and attract the
as partners. newer, digital-proficient generation. For example, Google
Now, as soon as banks start building an ecosystem play, will soon start offering "Plex", mobile-first digital bank
pricing and billing becomes even more important. For accounts through its Google Pay app to its US customers.
example, if your bank is offering you a concierge service or For Plex, Google has partnered with 11 banks and credit
a travel service as a value addition, they have to not only unions, including Citi.
price it correctly, but also do so after factoring in your own Banks are therefore not just partnering with fintechs but
behavior. How many times do you travel every month or with Big Tech companies too. In turn, customers will soon
every year? Are you a preferred customer of your bank? see the entry of non-traditional players in banking, like
What is your credit rating? Such behavioral factors are today Google, Facebook and Amazon. Big Tech is today able to
playing a greater role than ever in helping banks create and offer precisely what a bank used to offer in the past because

BANKING FINANCE | JUNE | 2021 | 49