Things are becoming more difficult with launch of UPI as UPI although helps the banks, the incumbents, but it helps the challengers even more. If I am using the UPI app, I don’t have to think much about the bank I am sending the money to or requesting money from—the same way I don’t think about my telecom service provider when I send a WhatsApp message to a friend. Almost everything about the bank—most importantly the bank account number, the primary identity—is hidden behind a simple virtual payment address (VPA), the new identity. The bigger your customer base, the more worried you will be. The way Ola and Uber understands taxi business better than taxi guys, technology guys know more about banking than the other way around. In this Panel discussion Ritesh Pai of Yes Bank, Viiay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm and Adhil Shetty of Bank Bazaar- which aggregates bank products- give some interesting insights. Adhil Shetty talks about how 7 million customers are coming to his site for product offerings from 30 banks. In a survey of net savvy banking customers held last year, 45% took financial decision by doing the research themselves. This percentage of people is now at 75% this year. Paytm is on the way to launch its payments bank. Currently this e-wallet company has a base of 100 million customers. If every paytm customer keeps a minimum of Rs.1,000/- in their Paytm wallet it amounts to approx. USD 2 billion of daily float at zero cost.
Must watch for everybody associated with financial services