The last decade has seen the financial services sector of India undergo a transformative change. With the emergence of new-age technology solution providers or technology-driven start-ups in the financial space, established financial institutions have begun shifting from traditional legacy systems to partnership models with these technology start-ups. Apart from established financial institutions such as Banks, small NBFCs and Fintechs have also adopted these technology solutions to accelerate their digital business. This has provided them with better digital capabilities that enable them to reach and serve their target customers better. The collaborative approach has brought about a win-win scenario for both the FIs and the Fintech solution providers. The start-ups provide Financial Institutions with technological capabilities required to stay competitive in the 21st century, while the Financial Institutions provide the start-ups with the opportunity to enhance their product capabilities through the deployment of complex solutions and help improve their market positioning. However, as this trend of collaboration continues in the industry, it is vital for all parties involved to ensure that they have chosen the right firms to partner with.

In India, amidst its geographic and cultural diversities, branch offices have traditionally played an overarching role in the financial services ecosystem for lenders across the public and private sectors. Apart from driving volumes, branchbased transactions instill the demanded magnitude of trust, loyalty, and customer confidence, indispensable for all-weather business relations to thrive. Nevertheless, much of the country’s branch operations trajectory is hamstrung by a host of inadequacies. It ranges from inherently paper-based processes that are iterative, time-consuming, and fragmented, decentralized verification task loads requiring repeated collaboration with third parties, lack of communication between stakeholders, to limited visibility into workflows from an applicant’s perspective. The situation has been further aggravated by the COVID-19 induced disruptions, burdening the operational parameters of the branches with the necessary safety protocols and capping their service potential.

The financial services sector in India is perhaps one of the earliest beneficiaries of the surging digitalization wave in the country. The transformation of banking that has continued with varying tempo has received a shot in the arm with the expanding connectivity coverage, the fintech revolution, and a National resolution to drive inclusion. Today, stakeholders on both sides of the counter are exceptionally aspirational.