Fintechs, banks can thrive on collaborative basis: Kotak Mahindra Bank's Shanti Ekambaram

Shanti Ekambaram says any fintech which is into the data science and analytics space will work with banks that have large consumer bases.

Fintechs and banks can thrive on a collaborative basis as each brings its own strengths, said Shanti Ekambaram, President, Consumer Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank.

"Fintechs, except for a few, are great experience layers and banks bring customers. So, in my view, the entire space can thrive on a collaborative basis. Each brings its own strength," said Ekambaram in an exclusive interaction with Moneycontrol.

Banks partner with fintechs majorly due the tech advantage and the user experience these companies deliver.

The whole-time director of Kotak Mahindra Bank further added that, in India, unlike in the rest of the world, banks have moved forward on the experience side significantly.

"If you look at the leading private sector banks, including Kotak Mahindra Bank, they have all worked on the technology front end, and moving the experience factor for customers significantly by making investments," she said.

Ekambaram added that any fintech which is into the data science and analytics space will work with banks that have large consumer bases.

"Similarly, somebody who has a great account opening experience will work with banks, because you know, the banking customers don't have a licence, and so on and so forth," she added.

Shanti Ekambaram’s is not a lone voice. Other bankers, while speaking at various events in the past, had echoed her views. On September 6, Amitabh Chaudhry, chief executive officer and managing director of Axis Bank, while speaking at the Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai, had said that a collaborative model between banks and fintech companies is a must for the overall growth of the financial sector.

"Fintechs do not have the business reach like banks and banks do not have the tech facility like fintechs. Hence, collaboration is the model both institutions need to work on," Chaudhry said.

Additionally, collaboration is coming in rapidly as both institutions understand the new developments in the industry, he said.

BharatPe chairman Rajnish Kumar believes that, in the future, banks will become like fintechs and fintechs like banks, highlighting the pace of changes that India's banking and payments space is going through.

He was speaking at Moneycontrol's Startup Conclave on July 7. Kumar said fintechs are rewriting rules for innovation and have advantages over banks in the payments ecosystem.

"Banks have advantages over fintechs in some spaces but nowadays, customers are likely to use payment systems operated by fintech companies," Kumar said.