Joseph John, head of the banking products division at iFlex Solutions was in
Delhi recently to accept the Runners-up Award for Excellence in Electronics,
2000-01. He spoke to Dataquest about Flexcube and the banking vertical, which
accounts for nearly 60% of the company’s overall revenues
You have a presence in 41 countries, but you are still exploring new
geographies. What’s behind this move?
It is only now that we are entering the US, which we could not earlier, being
part of Citigroup. As per regulation K, an organization like Citi with diverse
interests (in our case banking software) could not operate in that particular
segment in the US, except for servicing the parent organization itself. The
regulation was lifted last year. Our biggest win in the US market has been IMF.
IMF is currently using Flexcube as a centralized application. Apart from IMF, we
have North Carolina District State Territory (NCDST) and the Bank of Baroda in
New York.
How long does a Flexcube installation take?
The duration naturally depends on the size of the installation. The first
branch is always the most difficult to do. Subsequent rollouts are smooth.
Does Flexcube offer multi-lingual support?
Yes, we do support languages like Portugese and Arabic. And the choice of
using of multiple languages lies with the user. Among two users in the same
bank, one could use Portugese and the other-English by just changing settings.
No rewriting of code is required. However, we have not ventured into Indian
languages. But in order to be able to enable the use of Indian languages, some
support needs to come from the OS too.
What are the hurdles in the ‘e-revolution’ of Indian banking?
The last few years have given an impetus to e-banking. Earlier, IT was
restricted to computerizing branches, but now, real automation has begun.
Security is one of the key areas on which laws are required in the Indian
context. At least on the retail side, e-banking is widely used.
What delays automation in public sector banks?
Decision-making is certainly an issue in the public sector. However, in the
past two years, several public sector banks have initiated the process of
change. Automation in the banking sector is now a question of survival. Our
clients include Syndicate Bank and Bharat Overseas Bank.
Manjiri Kalghatgi in New Delhi