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How Could Biometrics Help in Digital Banking?
With biometrics and its application trending the social media, firms and organizations are jumping the bandwagon to reap benefits. But you would be surprised to know that Biometrics is an age-old process used for your identification. Surprised? If we trace the history of biometrics, as per wiki in 1891 fingerprints catalog of criminals was formulated based on Francis Galton’s theory of fingerprints and physiognomy.And today this buzzword is helping in redefining the banking to rural people by being used as primary authentication or second dimensions authentication. In fact, Biometrics Banking is another trendsetter, and this post would talk about the same, on how Biometrics could enable banking empowering the financial and social inclusion. What is Biometrics Technology? Biometrics or biometry is the measurement and statistical analysis of people’s physical and behavioral characteristics as defined by searchsecurity . This science is now used by firms to design authentication and access control features for software and hardware applications. There are different forms of identifiers that are used as authenticators like – Fingerprints DNA Face Hand Retina Ear features Odour Typing Rhythm Fingerprints Gait Gestures Voice While the above identifiers are being used as features, some of the evolving identifiers are still under tests like brainwave signals, electronic tattoos and password pill [ a microchip that could be swallowed and is powered by the acid present in the stomach. Once at a required position could emit unique radio signals turning your whole body into a password. Sounds a bit crazy!] Why You Need Biometrics? According to a research study done by Telesign , passwords that are used to protect our systems are quite vulnerable and could be easily hacked. The studies also report the stats that in the US and UK 73% people use the same password for everything. While experts recommend changing the password every six months, 47% rely on the password that hasn’t been changed since last five years. Biometrics empowering Digital bankingSo to SECURE OUR SYSTEMS in an efficient yet secure way, biometric identification is needed. How is Biometrics Helping Banking? Banking is all about money handling. People often look for fool-proof ways while storing or handling currency, and biometric technology could be a savior to many of us who are looking for a dependable system that could be accessed by only you. The biometric technology not only strengthens the banking infrastructure but also helps in protecting the individuals banking profiles, thereby avoiding identity theft and fraud. Let’s dive to know how – Biometrics usage In-Branch Banking/ Branchless Banking You enter a bank branch, get a token with the iris scan and wait for your turn. As your number is displayed on the board, you reach the counter. But to your surprise, there is no bank official, but a screen that knows if you are an existing bank customer or not based on the iris scan, and what are the other services you are availing. As you mention you are looking for a personal loan, the necessary paperwork is done in few minutes with e-verification, and there you go with the loan amount credited to your account. A simple and hassle-free way of availing banking! Biometrics usage in Mobile Banking You are driving on a highway, stopped at services, bought stuff for your journey and got your petrol tank full. Opened your bank’s wallet with fingerprint authentication and paid the bill through your mobile. No need to carry cash or remember different PIN and password, just enjoy your drive. Biometrics usage in ATM/Kiosks No need to remember different configurations of the PIN as with simple voice recognition you could get cash from an ATM. Or you went to kiosks to transfer money to your distant cousin; you could use one of the biometric identifiers to get it executed. Biometrics usage in Online Banking No worry that someone might be peeping onto your keyboard when you type the password, or if you are using a public computer it may save it, Use a Face recognition or fingerprint identifier and log into your banking portal. Transfer funds or avail a new loan with no pressure to remember login and transaction password. Biometrics usage in Agent/Offline Banking Another fruitful case for rural people living in remote areas with no or inadequate connectivity. The people are mostly illiterate and not skilled enough to use online/mobile banking. The agent walks in with a biometric system, gets their fingerprint scan looks at the available balance and provide them with the cash. The rural people could use these biometric identifiers as e-KYC to open a bank account and avail other banking services. The above were some of the use cases that could work well with biometric technology. Now talking about the biometrics identifier that is being used across the globe, the graph is perfect to help us with that – Biometric in Banking Challenges/Risks of Biometrics Technology Biometrics Authentication does offer convenience, but it also comes with the risks/challenges. Your fingerprint or iris scan is just the data [as the traditional password], and so comes the risk of data theft which could be resolved by biometric tokenization [on similar lines as Apple Pay] that instead of sending the biometric information sends a unique number. Another challenge is the device capturing your biometric and the enrolment procedure. A frequent case that I witnessed was while linking Aadhar to sim cards [ BSNL], after making an umpteenth attempt when the device did not recognize my fingerprints, the officials asked me to come the other day. Despite the concerns, biometric authentication or access control is expanding and evolving. Enterprises, individuals or government agencies all are trying best to leverage the technology. And why not when we know security is a soothing phenomenon! Be it tech-enthusiast or a rural person unless the security aspect of any matter is crystal clear, people do not invest in such stuff. Biometrics verification helps in trusting, that unless you provide your fingerprint or iris or voice or any identifier, you would not be able to perform
Digital Banking – Would it lead the Banks and Fintech to Merge or Conquer?
The world is under the spell of digitization! Just a decade back, when people were skeptical about making a transaction online, the recent reports are highlighting the mass adoption of technology into their lives. Sample these – As per stats, the rise of Omni-digital banking customer has grown from 27% in 2012 to 46% in 2017. As per a post from Yourstory , in India post-demonetization there was an increase in availing services like mobile banking, mobile wallets, other digital payment solutions like Sodexho, pre-paid cards and debit cards transaction on PoS. Image Source – PWC 2017 Such a massive growth is a collaborative effort of fintech firms and banks. So, could we say Digital Banking is dependent on fintech firms? Or Are banks dependant on their technology providers? Could we in future see banks more like regulators and fintech firms as an operating wing? With concepts like branchless banking, contactless banking evolving would bank be merged? Do we foresee fintech firm expansion that results in bypassing banks? To answer many such questions, we decided to come up with this post. Banks and fintech firms What is Digital Banking? In layman terms – any of the banking services/activities when availed via digital/electronic mode is referred to as Digital banking. So, if you are using your e-wallet or logged in to your bank website for funds transfer or online shopping. In fact for banks like e-KYC or automation of opening a bank account are also some of the examples of digital banking. The Present state of Digital Banking in India In India, as per 2017 Oracle J.D. Power India Retail Banking Study , 94% of retail banking customers have visited the branch/store at least once in the past 12 months that signifies how services are availed via digital means. Only 51% of retail banking customers have a reliable online banking experience with their primary financial institution. While individuals specified concern of security as the prime reason for non-usage of digital channels. The most surprising fact highlighted in the study was – ~94% of urban customer prefer to visit a branch to avail banking services indicating lack of trust on digital channels. While these are the stats lets check on health meter of banks and fintech firm and their contribution towards Digital banking. Banks and Fintech Firms – Walking Hand in Hand Well, that’s our present situation! Banks and fintech and not competing with each other, there is no overlap. Banks are learning to adapt to digitization and fintech firms are providing solutions to make banker and their customer’s life easier. Traditional banking processes are evolving as now people have an option of Electronically transferring funds and via cheque/demand draft Shopping through their mobile wallet Crediting salary directly to employees bank account So Bank needs to offer the traditional products but also adopt the modern ways of handling money, that’s why they need fintech. On the other hand, fintech firms have hands-on experience on latest technology but to build a customer base, to build the trust, to get accredited by regulatory authorities they need to prove their worth. Hence they need banks. Both entities need each other to progress – strengthen their customer base, build customer’s trust and outgrow their competition. As per a report from CBinsights , these 78 India based fintech start-ups are building the ecosystem to support Digital India move. While the solutions are offered under various categories like Payments, Lending, Insurance, Trading platform, and taxes, experts believe that simplified yet intuitive UX designing has led fintech firms to gain customers attention and win loyalty. Banks and fintech firms Many fintech firms like Teknospire or ElectronicPay collaborates with Banks to use their fintech solution for better transparency and growth of their client. Other businesses like FundsIndia or NukkadShop or Veritas Finance directly deal with their clients acting as a mediator between banks and customers. In short, we could say that currently the banks and fintech firms are working in parallel lines to accumulate a rich customer base, penetrate in every nook and corner of India. While this seems to be a healthy competition but what happens when you have achieved all that and established yourself as a brand? What happens when your product is significant, but you are not able to reach out to the mass? A merger or an acquisition? Only time can tell. The Future State of Digital Banking in India One of the recent articles on economic timese read – In the match for India’s financial services future, fintech just scored twice while banks are still struggling to retrieve the ball they scuffed into their net. While ET predicted [based on facts] that fintech would lead and banks would be slaughtered by them, let’s quickly glance other facts – The HNI[High Net Worth Individuals] individuals – What do they choose? That’s the hard reality, despite traditional institutions[banks] juggling between modern and old approach, they[banks] are still the first choice of HNIs and corporate offices. You pick any office across India, none of them [corporate accounts] yet have an account [ because of the regulatory constraints] with fintech firms. Be it crediting salary to your employees or managing your business financial portfolio banks are still the preferred choice. Fintech firms are trusted by Urban People but need penetration in rural areas Search a term on google, and it would show you the result of location, contact numbers, and review. With such an ease of availing services at the urban location, residents find it easy to encash offers and convenience provided by fintech firms. However, tier2 cities and specifically remote areas are untouched by this handiness. Hence banks may again be a preferred choice for people in rural areas. With technology innovation like Robots, Biometrics and Virtual Reality, Banks may be redundant As you approach a branchless bank, you are greeted by a robot who ask you your account number, with your biometrics valid authentication, he/she then ask- How could I help you? Or how about your
Are Banks Heading Towards Extinction?
Will the new technology and innovation make Banks an extinct species? If India is stressing to go #cashless today, are we in a position to adopt blockchain? With small firms now financing small amount loans, the common man could skip the hassle of going to a bank? With Agent Banking providing services at your doorstep would banks be a lonely place? For a moment sit back and before reading this article think of a question – Why do you need Bank primarily for? What’s your answer? We asked this question to five different people and here is what they answer – Respondent 1 [ housemaid] – Need to get widow pension amount, as they do not give cash these days! Respondent 2 [ A middle-level IT Professional] – My salary credit happens, hence need one! Respondent 3[ A teenager] – I do not need one bank account! I get my pocket money in cash! Respondent 4 [ A homemaker] – Why would I need one, I get cash or use my credit card. Respondent 5 [ A shopkeeper] – Need to keep my surplus and buyer outside state directly transfer funds into my account, hence need one. You can extend this query to senior citizens, stall owners, small and medium business enterprises or even CEO’s, and I feel they would also answer on the same line of funds transfer or managing money unless someone has a need for Loans, investments or government schemes. Why the scrutiny of “Are Banks Heading Towards Extinction” Question? If you are still figuring out “why the scrutiny of Are Banks Heading Towards Extinction”? Let take a closure look at some facts – As per the 2014 report, 38% of world population is still unbanked that means they are not using or holding a bank account. Opening and maintain a bank branch comes at a high cost and Banks are facing a tough time by Fintech players who operate at orders of magnitude less technology cost, and require no branch network. Another survey in the US highlighted the fact that 38% of millennials do not visit a branch for any banking needs, apart from using an ATM. At least In India that has 93 commercial banks, there is a lack of centralization just for example – a person whose salary account is in Branch X need to visit the same branch to get banking services. There are very few banks who offer centralized services. These are some of the pain points/facts observed at a global level. And Hence the audit of the case! Why do you need Bank? Anything can only be extinct when the primary need to use it is fulfilled by other means. Just for example – the stalls enabling other state calling and local calling through an STD-PCO was soon replaced by mobile phones and cheap calling cards. In a similar manner if we are boosting #cashless society even ATM’s may soon be deserted place. In a similar fashion, if we want to dissect if Banks are soon to be extinct species, we would need to know the fundamental reason as for why banks are primarily used. Based on above discussion, we hope we could summarize the fact that you need a bank To get funds from another party. ( Peer to Peer Transfer – P2P Transfer) Manage the surplus to keep it safe. ( Savings deposit) Hypothetically If Banks Do Not Exist Hypothetically if we believe Banks do not exist and individuals and business still require to avail all the banking services. What would happen – People- who are availing banking services presenting a new alternative or picking a traditional one would it help people or would be a pain point? Banking services- Are there any alternatives? Do we have stable and robust alternatives to banks as institutions? Case Study Scenario The Banks do not exist anymore, however, thanks to digitization and innovation we have digital wallets, Agent Banking, digital platforms, bitcoins or traditional alternatives like pawnshops, microfinance, that could make things possible. How feasible would it be? The Services If we bid goodbye to Banks either we need to pick the traditional financial services like Pawnshop Local Money Lending Business Crowd Funding Or the Modern Approaches like – Digital wallet Agent Banking Micro financing Bitcoins/Blockchains However, each of the current methods needs a Bank Account! Please refer to the table below – Bank Account Relevancy Channels Digital Wallets Agent Banking Loans Government Schemes Online Shopping Investments Funds Transfer Dependency YES/NO YES YES YES YES YES YES YES And picking the traditional services has their set of cons, well known to us! The People As per the 2014 report, 38% of world population is still unbanked that means they are not using or holding a bank account, with banks being an extinct species it would not affect them. However, the remaining 62 % banked population may have to suffer if the alternative financial services are not as per the expectations. That means the Alternative financial services offers– Pawnshop Local Money Lending Business Crowd Funding The verdict Banks were not born in a day, and it took them thousands of years to be what they are! If we think of Banks as the institutions serving us daily, the alternative would only be a system as robust, secure and dynamic that could help each and every individual on this earth. So yes, Banks are not going extinct at least shortly! However, looking at the pain points/facts and no feasible alternatives Banks need transformation for sure! Banks Need Transformation Banks are not merely a place confined in four walls that keep your money safe and secure; there is a lot more that banks need to achieve. Banking needs transformation and adopts technologies to reach the base of the pyramid, to match up cost, access, convenience and affordability to people as an institution. They need to – Look beyond setting up physical branches, ATM’s, POS devices and other means that connect the last mile and
How to make content for Tech companies?
Techies…. or nerds…. they need to be left at their bearings. You ask them to code for 24 hours a day…. the glee u see on their face is irreplaceable, but u ask them to manage people…. brrr… they would show their attitude… the same goes with an expression of what would give when they are asked to write on tech stuff…. or sometimes even talk of it. They are content with what they do…. don’t wanna talk about it. Write of it… are you kidding???…. that is much against their nerdy karma…tsk tsk! So what would you do get them to give you content…?. I am talking here as a content manager… or as a glorified content strategist. Your KRA depends on what gets published on the website… and you cannot be posting “stuff “ from your own brain every time. As per the rules of content marketer…. the stuff which is out of your stable has to be : Engaging…. for other nerds… so that he would aspire to be part of this cool tech startup which is doing stuff in a very millennial way. Nerdy but not so nerdy… the common man (a solution seeker), can read and understand what you as a company does and decide whether to buy this solution/service or not. When an investor looks at you they need to see those keywords in your content , so that they also can boast in their VC circle, that they have invested in a loaded Tech startup. Doomed we are as content marketers ! to meet these criteria… Yes, sometimes I feel I really need a magic “content” wand. One of the approaches which has made my life manageable so that I always have content on my calendar and I am not that person from whom the techies need to escape from, when they see me in corridors is presented here. When you meet a Techie, ask them what do they do? For this also…. you may not get a clear answer. Sometimes I have had answers like i am writing this code and I have this error. In these cases I don the software engineer hat for some time and sit with them see their code…. basically, empathise with them. If I knew how the code works, wouldn’t I have been a master coder by now? I ran from it after dabbling with it. Which I don’t tell them, but “empathise “ that those set of lines would come to life at some point in time. And tell them that time is very very near. If you have caught them at this juncture, never talk of content to them, otherwise, you would be their worst enemy. They would judge you… how can she talk about content when the code is not working. My world is crumbling here and she wanna make a damn article! So veer away from your goals then, but breathe and be with them. The power of NOW…Is the only way. One day he would find out, a comma was missing in that damn code and he made it “work”. He would surely report back when you meet him at the coffee machine, then the time is ripe…. Ask him once more what does he do… you would get a definitive answer now. I develop this software for this solution. Now it is the time to dig more and ask him if you want to write about it. Then mostly the response or the expression on the face would “Are you kidding me?” They would then put all their guards on and say “You see I have this deadline looming over me or this damn code needs this much more development and I am gonna work on it the whole night!” Once more withdrawn to their shell… Tactic here…. hey, you don’t need to write it…but just give me some points and I can elaborate. What say? 2 reactions can be expected. The face brightens up : bcoz they see light falling on their ideas. To add fuel to it, I would say, see the advantage of this is that you can boast of the same in you LinkedIn profile.. which is otherwise very dry as of now. And google search on you would be richer. You see at a later point of life…. you can boast to your grandchildren that you have publications to your credits, till they are 5 years of age. after that, they would know what a blog is and what it entails! Am I taking it too far! Anyways some of these are told to them, which are facts as well. I am not marketing my content marketing. How it helps employees are multifold: In addition to presenting to the world what technologies and solutions the company work on, it presents to the world the tech expertise which the employee foster. It becomes easier to mine out which company does similar work and which employee has to be poached from it. Makes your life easier for the job hunt. Or your ego would be massaged on a regular basis by calls from recruitment agencies for prospects. When you present your profile for conferences, job interviews or even for marriage proposals… you can boast of being a nerd with blogs to your credit. Girls are generally impressed by guys who talk tech-sense. Now the next reaction: Am I that great to write tech stuff, that too for public consumption? Now it is counselling time, you need to resort to “tiny drops make the ocean” kind of approach in this context and explain to them, let us start with this blog and then we would reach whitepapers and patents at one point. It works most of the cases. Others are Nerdy nerds beyond you. Most of the above ones are now convinced and then they collect their coffee and move on with a promise of sending me a mail with the “Idea”. I am hopeful too. But