Wipro to focus on banks in emerging markets

Wipro SmartOffers is the first application in the world having a bank-centric approach to the mobile offerings or coupons offerings

Wipro Technologies today said it is working on emerging markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America to grow its sophisticated IT systems for banking services.

"We are working on emerging markets for our services in the three regions over the next three years," said Suresh Raman, the Singapore-based Head of Banking Sales for Asia Pacific & Japan.

He was speaking at a banking technology show here.

The financial services industry, especially banking, is in the midst of massive upgrade of existing IT set ups to cope with future regulatory and customer-driven online and mobile services, said Vijay Sharma, Vice President & Head Domain & Industry Advisory Services for Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI).

Citing industry figures, the two executives said that global banks were expected to spend $150 billion this year on IT related upgrades, revamps and system refreshments.

About a third that is expected to be made by Asian banks internationalising their operations and service across the globe including developed markets in the West.

The officials said they expected an annual increase of 2-3% on IT spending by the banks, including those in matured and developed markets such as the US, with fast expanding internet banking.

New regulations and standards as well as Basel III norms will demand more sophistication in the banking and financial IT systems, considering the wide spread of online consumer spending and high level security against rising risk threats, the officials pointed out.

Sharma said more and more banks are making these investments for system efficiencies and cost reduction over the long-term, given the increasing usage of internet and mobile phone-based banking services and transactions.

He noted that international banks with multiple applications on their IT systems were streamlining their applications making them security safe and user-friendly.

"As such, it makes sense for the banks to invest in new IT systems," said Sharma at the launch of Wipro's latest solution, "Wipro SmartOffers" at FinovateAsia 2012, a conference on banking technology in Singapore held today.

Wipro SmartOffers is a location-based offer application with the impulse-buy engine ever built and is the first application in the world having a Bank-Centric Approach to the Mobile Offering/Coupons offerings.

Banking accounts for 27% of Wipro's global business.