BankING on tech: ING Vysya says IT finds the next big thing

Technology has become a way forward for almost all businesses with increasing dependency. In fact, most organisations today are driving profitability through streamlined operations and innovation, which come only by implementing the latest techniques.

Moneycontrol.com's Chikita Kukreja contacted ING Vysya Bank's chief financial officer Jayant Mehrotra to know how he was reading the technological intervention. And, here is what he had to say.

Q: Banking and financial services currently constitute about 40% of the revenue mix for IT companies In India. With increasing branch network of the banks, how is this likely to impact earnings?

A: Definitely branch expansion will result in higher spends on IT infrastructure and would constitute an opportunity for IT companies, who have the geographical spread to manage branch IT infrastructure through workplace support.

However, if you take branch network expansion as a surrogate of overall expanding banking ambitions, then there would be substantially more attractive gains in terms of application development and maintenance (e.g. CRM, lead management, workflow management).

Q: In spite of years of existence, internet banking has not really picked up and people still believe in traditional methods of transaction. Will we see a spurt in this segment and what is the strategy next?

A: India is a vast market with multiple consumer segments, one size will never fit all. Convenience, type of banking transaction and trust, determine the mode of banking. We will continue to see a segment of consumers, who prefer the human touch and visit the branch. In my opinion even for complex transactions, wealth management discussions or availing large loans, customers will prefer to meet the banker, feel comfortable and then take the next step.

On the other hand, given our demographics and mobile handset sales, I see explosive growth of banking on mobile and internet. These will be for the repetitive, low-ticket transactions. In fact, we too have made significant investments and seen growth in these areas. The strategy is to keep investing in our technology and make transactions instantaneous, simple and secure.

Q: Apart from ATM operations and on-location technology, how else do you utilise technology to expand in rural areas?

A: We have a significant presence in rural areas across southern India with physical branches. We follow the conventional branch model. The only difference is the branch timings