There were 67 esteemed speakers who unraveled the innovative strategies incorporated by their sectors to build their businesses digitally.
On the first day of the Converge, some important discussions took place about the banking sector on the topics of the whirling world of innovation, relooking at unknown risks and threats, the future of Neo banks and regulation of banking post 2020.
The second day of the Converge was vibrant with discussions about the insurance sector turning to phygital from physical. Various speakers acknowledged that the lockdown has paved the way for multiple innovations and opportunities for the sector that never existed before.The speakers from the insurance sector acknowledged the need to take a structured approach to digital strategy and talent to deal with customers empathetically in the new frontier of the touchless.
The second day also witnessed discussions on building virtual capabilities, on the future of insurtechs and also uncovering reinsurance. Various speakers from the insurance sector noted that it is imperative to keep in mind that the customers’ lifestyle and needs have changed. In the online journey, people are looking for simple and transparent products. “The insurance companies need to work like travel companies where customers can compare products, get rates and look at the clearly elucidated benefits,” noted Amit Malik, Chief People’s Operations and Customer Services Officer at Aviva Life Insurance. The need to make the operation seamless was agreed upon as the biggest challenge for the insurance companies, where a Zomato kind of experience needs to be created for the platform of insurance for customers.
On the final day of the Converge, interesting conversations about the future of digital lending, financial institutions and Bigtech, payment, credit and microproducts, and the importance of Regtech in BFSI was discussed by the speakers from NBFCs and Fintechs. Discussions on FinTechs and BigTechs working with banks took place in the Converge, where the growing interest in Bigtech from the point of view of FinTech because of the vast consumer data available at the former’s disposal was acknowledged.
Some pertinent points discussed by the esteemed speakers at the ETBFSI converge are noted below:
Viral Acharya, former deputy governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), noted that the weaker public sector banks should focus on ‘sachetisation’ of lending and their business model should become similar to micro credit, micro finance or small finance banks.
Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, SBI, at a fireside chat on the Banking post 2020 at the ETBFSI Converge noted that the SBI, India’s largest bank, is moving towards digital channels really fast, where 55 out of 100 transactions at SBI are happening digitally. Discussing the immense power of digital in the times of this black swan event, he added that SBI has been disbursing Rs 70 to 80 crore worth loans daily, irrespective of the banks being open or closed. He ended his speech saying that the banks are prepared for future pandemics as well.
Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer of Monetary Authority of Singapore stated that the pandemic has thrown more opportunities for collaboration between banks and FinTechs. He highlighted the need to create a common pool of funds for FinTechs which can speed up the adoption of technology and help the whole ecosystem.
At the Converge, Praveena Rai, COO, NCPI, discussed how regulators are continuously working towards adopting newer and better technologies to support organisations back home. She added that in the current pandemic situation, a number of regulations have become more relevant with digitisation, and regulatory oversight has become far more challenging.
The NBFCs have seen many ups and downs since the IL&FS crisis, and have been redesigning their way of conducting business to survive the disruptions caused by the pandemic. At the ETBFSI Converge, the heads of top NBFCs talked about the role that business models play in the survival of the industry in the post pandemic world. The panelists: Sachin Pillay, TT Srinivasaraghavan, George A Muthoot, Hemant Kanoria and Kshama Fernandez shared their valuable views, stating that the way of approaching business has changed amidst the pandemic. George A Muthoot, MD Muthoot Finance, stated that since many of their customers are small customers, the staff had to get their bank accounts mapped to their loan accounts, after which the usage became better. “Either you do it intentionally or the environment forces you into it. Change has to happen,” said Hemant Kanoria, Chairman, SREI Infrastructure Finance.
Assessing the growing digitisation of the BFSI sector in this pandemic, “there are decades when weeks happen, there are weeks when decades happen”, said KV Dipu, President and Head of Operations, Communities and Customer Experience, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. The summit was a huge success and business enthusiasts joined the three days of networking opportunities with full fervour.
