Union Bank of India (UBI) is ramping up its tech infrastructure to become a next generation digital bank as it strives to stay competitive and relevant in the digital-first era, with the bank investing Rs 1,000 crore as a first step to drive this transformation, UBI Executive Director Nitesh Ranjan said at the ETBFSI CXO Conclave 2022.
For banks to compete effectively in the digital age, it is critical that they transition from the monolithic technology system to the microservices led structure, said UBI’s Ranjan. The bank – which is also a partner bank for digital cash and credit card loan projects being developed by Reserve Bank Innovation Hub under the aegis of Reserve Bank of India – is also evaluating how fast it can adopt, implement and adapt to the public cloud as that would help it scale its business, he added.
Banks across the country are focusing on developing digital assets and at least four out of five of the top 100 digitally advanced banks have partnered with at least one fintech company. Majority of BFSI companies are collaborating with fintech companies rather than developing their own in-house solutions, taking advantage of proven technologies and business models while also often saving costs.
At the 4th edition of the ETBFSI CXO Conclave 2022, which was hosted by ETBFSI.com with Nivues and Google Cloud as presenting partners, Thoughtworks as transformation partner, Service Now and InMorphis as platform partners, Zoom as unified communications platform, GoTo as gold partner, Microsoft as silver partner, Exotel as customer experience partner, Union Bank of India as Digital Banking partner, and Crestron as associate partner, the conversations were focused on decoding the strategies that banking and financial services institutions are adopting in the digital era and understanding how BFSIs can leverage partnerships to achieve the next phase of growth amidst rapid digital adoption.
The ETBFSI CXO Conclave, which was held on 15 September 2022 at Mumbai, featured top CXOs from the Banking, Insurance, NBFC, and Fintech sectors. With 10+ knowledge sessions, 30+ eminent speakers, 150+ attendees and 08+ hours of networking opportunities, the event featured conversations on themes like Connecting Financial Institutions Digitally, Building Branchless Banking, Digital Lending: Scaling Up the Credit Segment With Data and AI, BFSI: Rise of Partnerships, What will make BFSI Bulletproof Amidst the Rising Cyber Attacks, and Building Tech Infrastructure for Future.
At the ETBFSI CXO Conclave, Union Bank of India’s Nitesh Ranjan highlighted the power of digital lending to enhance the speed, trust, and scale of the bank. Last year, the bank, which has been a front runner in offering digital lending solutions, launched the MSME Shisha Mudra STP, which is an end-to-end digital solution for business loans.
On the outlook for the banking industry, Ranjan said, “Banking is nothing but a replica of the overall economy. So, if the economy is going great, banks will also follow. But broadly, I would say that if the inflation and interest conditions are benign, and the positive sentiment is there, banks will also grow because we serve the individuals and the businesses.”
