Start-ups focus to strengthen HDFC digital platform

The Startup Village, an incubator for several aspiring entrepreneurs, has caught the attention of private sector HDFC Bank.

In its attempt to transform itself into a digital entity, the bank is looking at starts-up to tap into technological innovations. “We are looking at various start-ups. A lot of them have done good work in the digital medium and a lot of them have projects that can add value for the customer,” said Nitin Chugh, the head of digital banking at HDFC Bank, during his visit to the Startup Village in Kochi. Apart from partnering with start-ups on the technology, the bank may also look at launching applications specifically for entrepreneurs or small and medium enterprises.  

Last year, Aditya Puri, managing director, HDFC Bank, had visited Silicon Valley in the US, where he had a chance to meet with executives of several start-ups. Sources said he warmed up to the world of digital banking during this visit, and has ever since focussed on transforming HDFC Bank into a completely digital entity. In this process of transformation, the bank has been tying up with start-ups.

For instance, Chugh said, the company that built its mobile banking application was a start-up. Also, Chillr, the mobile banking application that allows a user to transfer money through the phone’s contact book was also built in association with a start-up.  The bank had partnered with MobME, a Kochi-based technology firm to launch this app.

The bank has seen robust growth in internet banking and recent trends suggest mobile banking, a subset of internet banking, has far outpaced it. As of end-March 2014, about 55 per cent of HDFC Bank’s transactions were via the internet (including mobile) as compared to 44 per cent before. The lender has not yet released FY15 figures on internet banking transactions.

According to the Reserve Bank of India data, at the end of March 2015, HDFC Bank had recorded transactions worth Rs 6,030.57 crore, higher than any other bank in the industry.

The total value of transactions recorded on the mobile banking platform in the industry stood at Rs 16,913.99 crore.