Faster Money

HDFC has proved that innovation never stops. It is one of the first banks to
engage in an outsourcing deal with Wipro for a Rs 360 crore contract till 2016.
One of the latest examples of innovation which is very interesting and
convenient from the point of view of an average ATM user is the capability it
has developed which helps dispense cash 40% faster. This has been made possible
by the use of BI tools. The bank has close to 20 mn customers and adding 2.5
lakh new ones per month. Add 4,000 ATMs to that and it becomes a Herculean task
for HDFC. Thanks to the foresightedness of the bank and its IT enablement, HDFC
clearly has become one of the fastest adopters of new technologies, giving some
of the leading MNC banks good competition. One of the recent innovation which
HDFC has widely publicized through advertisements, and which directly impacts an
average HDFC ATM user is the technology it has put behind the ATM. This
intelligence HDFC built inside the ATM thanks to implementation of a BI
solution.

Tech Works

The way it works is that once someone withdraws money from an HDFC Bank ATM
one is prompted to set the last withdrawal amount as "MyFavorite" (ie, ones
preferred cash amount). If one agrees, the cash withdrawal amount, account (in
case of multiple accounts) and preferred language are registered for future
transactions. Apart from this, one has the freedom to change the amount or the
account from which the cash is debited by following the regular withdrawal
steps. The new amount and account number can be registered as "MyFavorite"
overriding the earlier favorite transaction.

Reduced phishing attacks by 60% has resulted in increased usage of online banking by the customers	Anil Jaggia, CIO, HDFC Bank

On how prepared is the bank to scale the IT infrastructure, Anil Jaggia, CIO,
HDFC Bank says, "We are building 60,000 square feet of server space to manage
the 30% annual transaction growth that we are experiencing currently."
Considering increase in threat of identify theft, HDFC bank has also implemented
layered components of the RSA Identity Protection and Verification Suite which
would help it provide a comprehensive fraud prevention platform for its online
customers. This has resulted in reduction of phishing attacks by 60% resulting
in increased usage of online banking by its customers. RSAs solution includes
Adaptive Authentication feature which helps verify the banks site as
legitimate.

Going Forward

Talking about HDFCs agenda in the next two years, Jaggia says, "Our
strategy would revolve around initiatives to utilize BI tools, work on risk
management, regulatory compliance, and above all financial inclusion. All these
efforts, according to him, will take the customer experience to the next level
and improve the quality of service delivery. Financial inclusion is something
HDFC bank is bullish about, with mobile phone banking being an important element
of its strategy. This is in light of the fact that around 8 mn new connections
are getting added every month and customers are showing an increased tendency
towards accessing banking information on their mobile device.

Sudesh Prasad

sudeshp@cybermedia.co.in