IDFC First Bank prides itself for being a new-age bank with an in-depth focus on digital banking solutions, an assertion that any industry observer will find hard to dispute. IDFC’s ethos is to assist customers in managing wealth effectively while offering a more personalized and relationship-driven approach to wealth management.
IDFC has empowered its customers so much, to the extent that the number of transactions that require a personal visit to the branch is almost negligible. Its latest and most updated website and banking app launched recently aims to be a one-stop solution for all its customers’ financial and banking requirements. The Bank has automated and simplified the customer journey – from transactions such as account opening to loan applications and servicing needs. Most recently, it has also added a WhatsApp banking feature that delighted many of its customers.
For these reasons, it is only fitting that IDFC First Bank was awarded Excellence in User Experience – Website and Best Wealth Management Provider for Digital CX at the Digital CX Awards 2021 organised by The Digital Banker.
“As a bank, IDFC’s approach is to keep banking simple, easy-to-know and easy-to-understand. It enables people to save, borrow, invest, grow, and protect their wealth through a service characterized by digitization, personalization and customer-centricity,” said Nirav Patel, Managing Director at The Digital Banker during the awards ceremony.
Best-in-class innovation and hyper-personalisation
IDFC’s banking app relies heavily on its propriety Hyper-Personalisation Engine (HPE), a powerful, state-of-the-art technology that studies customer behaviour and provides advice on investment instruments tailored to the individual’s unique preferences and behaviour patterns. The recommendation is calculated based on various attributes such as risk profile, spending patterns, income group and other relevant characteristics of the customer.
This proprietary engine also helps IDFC extend personalized investment opportunities to its customers based on their risk-taking appetite and existing portfolio. It helps the customer maintain an optimal debt-equity ratio of their investment in real-time. This means that if the portfolio of a customer is underperforming, the system automatically provides the customer with alternative solutions. Thus, it functions as a virtual relationship manager.
IDFC’s banking app relies heavily on its propriety Hyper-Personalisation Engine (HPE), a powerful, state-of-the-art technology that studies customer behaviour and provides personalised advice on investment instruments.
One of the most popular features of IDFC’s digital platform is the Portfolio Rebalancing feature where the system helps intelligently analyse portfolios based on risk and performance and optimises
the portfolio based on the customer’s desired risk-reward level. In case the portfolio deviates from the user’s defined risk appetite, the system automatically triggers a notification to the user suggesting alternative relevant instruments to rebalance their portfolio.
The system also uses machine learning and feedback to analyse customer needs and identify a potential opportunity so clients can leverage the insurance product spread of the bank. Based on their spending on things such as medicals bills, pharmacy or children’s expenditures, the system guides clients to products that will help them save and plan finances better for future stability.
Relentless focus on the customer journey
IDFC is known as the people’s bank, whose customers are mainly salaried workers, self-employed individuals, small businesses and micro-enterprises, with a specific emphasis on the underserved and first-time borrowers. As such, the benefits accrued in implementing a robust digital platform goes beyond delighting its customers, it also allows the Bank to optimise its revenue potentials.
For example, IDFC now has a much deeper understanding of its customers. The quantum of data available and the analysis conducted on behavioural patterns by identifying key client influencing variables and decision tree modelling techniques, allows IDFC to have an in-depth understanding of customer DNA. This rich data has proven to be an invaluable asset for the bank as they develop new products and introduce digital innovations.
Moreover, the digital platform enabled IDFC to overcome the challenge of opening and operating new branches. The digital onboarding of customers has ensured that even customers with no physical branches within his/her vicinity can still be a part of its customer base, thereby giving IDFC an almost unlimited market reach.
