01. Looking back on 2018, what were some of the main challenges/milestones you saw in your industry/business?
- Banks adopting new age technologies
In the past year, the Indian banking sector has embraced the need for digitisation and is swiftly moving towards new and consumerfriendly digital banking services. This shift Will help banks gain new customers and reduce the consumer turnaround time. The banking industry in India has adopted the practices like interacting with their customers through multiple channels such as apps, chatbots, smart speakers, digital voice assistants, and more.
- Growth of Fintech Companies
The traditional financial services sector has seen a tremendous shift towards digitisation with a growing number of Indian consumers going digital. Fintech firms are now redefining the way companies and consumers conduct transactions on a daily basis in India. With the help of credit bureaus, fintech companies are helping new customers gain access to credit.
- Growth consumption lending in the unsecured space
Within retail loans, unsecured loans are growing at a faster pace than that of secured loans. Unsecured loans are loans given without collaterals and comprise consumer loans, personal loans and credit card borrowings that can be seen in a typical retail portfolio. Unsecured loans have witnessed a tremendous growth, with all its categories growing at more than 50% in the last fiscal year. With the continuous focus on financial inclusion and digitisation, this segment is expected to grow further. Startups and e-commerce brands in association with financial institutions, with assistance from credit bureaus, are offering credit to the right customers at the right rates.
- Changes in eKYC process
NBFCs and E-wallets have had to relook at their digital acquisition models with changes in Aadhaar based eKYC verification. We are observing financial institutions trying to find innovative solutions, in terms of processes and technology, to be able to continue their growth momentum and ease consumer journey.
“The traditional financial services sector has seen a tremendous shift towards digitisation with a growing number of Indian consumers going digital.”
02. What are the top 3 trends you forecast as key for 2019?
- Advanced analytics and technology in customer management and collections
While 2018 was the year when financial institutions focussed on digital underwriting, we see 2019 as the year they focus on using technology for improving customer management and collections. Financial institutions will further invest in analytics for proving personalised offers and customised products that will help enhance customer experience.
We believe that more investments will be made in data, analytics and software to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in this process. In fact, today, predictive analytics can flag offany delinquencies at a portfolio level, even before they occur. Although this is being implemented by some players, there is a lot of scope to expand usage in this area.
- Al and ML in decisioning
Many companies in India are exploring the potential of Artificial Intelligence (Al) and Machine Learning (ML) to help them grow their businesses. Artificial Intelligence will play a huge role in boosting decision-making abilities. Companies that have invested in robust analytics capabilities possess an advantage over the others.
- Consumer consent linked Alternate data for providing credit and increasing financial access/inclusion
In India, people face various barriers in gaining access to formalized credit and therefore borrow at high interest rates. Consumers are now understanding the importance of factoring alternative credit data to help increase their chances of approval of credit. This will help cater to more customers that lack a credit footprint. India is a data-rich but financial inclusion might country. Using alternative data has the potential to help expand responsible access to credit for people who lack a traditional credit score. Consumers consenting to share their alternate data would further help increase financial inclusion in India.
Mohan Jayaraman is Managing Director, Decision Analytics & Business Information for Experian Asia Pacific. Experian is the world’s leading global information services company. Through providing information and analytical services, Experian helps organisations and consumers manage the risk and reward of commercial and financial decisions.
With over 20 years of experience in banking, he is in charge of driving greater collaboration across Experian’s Product, Consultant and Analytics businesses. He also has responsibility and management of Experian Japan’s Decision Analytics and Business Information business.
He first joined Experian in 2010 as Chief Operating Officer in India, before assuming the mantle of Managing Director a year later. During that time, he has been instrumental in growing Experian India’s multiple business lines to scale. He has also been an active participant in industry and regulatory forums related to the Credit information and the Analytics space.
Prior to joining Experian, he was with ICICI Bank, where he held a number of senior management positions, most recently Head of Payment Solutions & Enterprise Analytics. In his eight-year stint with ICICI bank he has also handled the retail portfolio buyouts & sell down business besides being involved in strategic buyout deals in the auto, two wheelers, commercial vehicles and the credit cards businesses.
He has also been a member of various industry forums driving analytics and credit bureau usage in the Indian banking system.
He has been a part of the Experian CSR team focused on directing the innovation capabilities within the organisation to solve social issues related to financial inclusion and consumer education for the last three years.
He is professionally a Cost and Management accountant with a strong interest in data sciences and artificial intelligence.