We've been scratching only the surface in India: Ramaswamy Venkatachalam

Interview with Ramaswamy Venkatachalam, Managing Director, India and South Asia, FIS

In 2014, after US-based banking technology-provider FIS secured a contract to provide technology support to banking services at Bandhan Bank, it had limited exposure to challenges in the rural banking sector. Cut to 2017, FIS has signed agreements with five of 10 proposed small finance banks for technological support. In an interview with Namrata Acharya, Ramaawamy Venkatachalam, managing director, India and South Asia, FIS, outlines the company’s evolving strategies. Edited excerpts:

You have secured contracts with five small finance banks. What kind of support will you be providing them?

We have tied up with small finance banks on two dimensions. One is total enterprise outsourcing, similar to Bandhan, where they have outsourced the entire technology platform. Second, on verticals such as the payments system. So some banks have opted for an outsourced model, while others are buying the software in the licence model. For four proposed banks, we are providing full technological support.

How has been your experience with Bandhan Bank?

Before Bandhan, we had worked with Mahila Bank, where we had executed the entire banking and payments platform. So, it was logical that Bandhan Bank would benefit from a player like us, who would provide a full set of solutions as a technology partner, not just as a system integrator. The bank has a huge scale. It was launched with 500 branches.  

How has your business been growing in India?

India is a top strategic market for FIS. It has been one of the fastest growing geographies for us for the past five years. We continue to invest here and grow.

What are your plans for India?

Initially, we were seen as payments services provider, that too in a very narrow domain of switching and ATM. Now we have a much broader horizon. Globally, we have over 250 to 300 products in our catalogue, exclusively catering to the banking sector. We are present in over 130 countries, we have more than 20,000 banks as customers. We are only scratching the surface as far as India is concerned. Last year we acquired Sunguard, which brought in a very strong product suite in treasury, capital markets, asset management, and insurance. It is complementary to our strong retail banking capability. India is a nascent market, and we will be introducing many products, especially on the payments side, including payment gateways, merchant acquisition system, fraud detection, treasury system. We are also opening a financial inclusion lab in Bengaluru soon.