Today, digital transformation is very critical part of journey for any organizations. From healthcare to BFSI, retail to manufacturing, emerging technologies like AI, IoT, and blockchain are reshaping processes and enhancing efficiency for excellent growth. This digital revolution continues to redefine how businesses operate in today’s so competitive world. Coforge, a global digital services and solutions provider is revolutionizing the BFSI sector through cutting-edge technologies. Rajeev Ranjan, Editor, Digital Terminal recently held an exclusive chat with Gautam Samanta, Global Leader- Banking & Financial Services, Coforge. Read below the excerpts:
Rajeev: What are the major challenges banks currently face in response to cybersecurity and customer experience? What do you think is the best approach to come out of the traditional models?
Gautam: Banks must prioritize cybersecurity and data protection. Implementing robust security measures to safeguard customer data and sensitive information is paramount. Conducting thorough risk assessments, adhering to regulatory requirements, and implementing strong encryption protocols are crucial steps to mitigate potential risks and vulnerabilities. Banks must embrace an agile and customer-centric approach, such as adopting open banking principles. By leveraging open banking, banks can revolutionize their existing business models and enhance the overall client experience.
Coforge has created the MASTER (Managed Automated Security Testing & Enhanced Remediation) framework to address vulnerability management comprehensively. MASTER surpasses basic scanning techniques by allowing banks to customize risk definitions to their specific business environment. It utilizes a proactive vulnerability intelligence platform to analyze scan results and gain deeper insights into potential vulnerabilities.
Additionally, MASTER assists Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) through a centralized reporting portal, offering improved visibility into risks and aging vulnerabilities. It streamlines the coordination of remediation activities, reducing overall risk and minimizing downtime. The MASTER framework empowers customers to identify potential points of entry, classify assets based on their importance, and effectively tackle identified risks and vulnerabilities. By embracing the MASTER framework, banks can enhance their cybersecurity measures, safeguard customer data, and enhance their ability to provide personalized and seamless experiences.
Rajeev: What are the top technologies that are changing the dynamics of the BFSI sector?
Gautam: The banking industry is currently undergoing significant changes due to advancements in technology, leading to transformations in operations, customer experiences, and business models. The pandemic has further accelerated this process. This is exemplified by one of our clients who successfully onboarded an additional 3 million customers onto their digital channels, requiring substantial modernization efforts.
Outlined below are the key technologies that are influencing the banking sector, along with their potential benefits and challenges:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML): At Coforge, we recognize the immense potential of AI and ML in revolutionizing the banking sector. Recent advancements in large language models (LLMs) are expected to have an even more profound impact in the medium term. Our work with clients involves leveraging AI and ML for fraud detection, risk assessment, process automation, and personalized customer experiences. While these technologies offer improved efficiency and cost savings, addressing concerns related to data privacy and security is crucial.
Generative AI: Generative AI holds immense potential in enhancing the customer experience within the banking industry. Chatbots powered by generative AI can simulate human-like conversations, enabling customers to interact with virtual assistants that can assist with account inquiries, transaction details, and personalized financial advice. Coforge has introduced the third generation of Amyra- a virtual assistant that is revolutionizing user support with its advanced Generative AI algorithms. Amyra understands user queries, interprets context, and delivers accurate responses, enhancing problem-solving capabilities and user satisfaction. With multilingual support and an end-to-end user support lifecycle, Amyra provides personalized and seamless assistance, driving efficiency, productivity, and a superior user experience.
Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT): Coforge acknowledges the transformative power of blockchain and DLT in the banking industry. These technologies have the potential to streamline processes, enhance security, and reduce costs. We collaborate with our clients and partners on various initiatives, including cross-border payments, trade finance, and identity management. However, achieving widespread adoption requires overcoming regulatory hurdles, standardization issues, and scalability limitations.
Cloud Computing: We consider cloud computing as a game-changer for the banking sector, providing scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. Embracing cloud-based solutions enables banks to expedite product development, enhance data analytics capabilities, and improve operational efficiency. Nevertheless, it is crucial for banks to manage risks related to data security, compliance, and vendor lock-in. Coforge actively engages with leading global banks on Cloud programs utilizing AWS, Azure, and GCP.
Automation with Low-Code/No-Code (LCNC) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA): Coforge sees LCNC platforms and RPA as valuable tools for banks to redesign and implement processes quickly, automate repetitive tasks, and allocate resources to strategic activities. We possess significant expertise in this area, utilizing this technology to optimize processes and operations, enhance regulatory compliance, and minimize human error. However, banks must consider the impact of automation on their workforce and invest in upskilling and reskilling initiatives.
Digital Banking and Open Banking: We place significant emphasis on digital banking and open banking to meet evolving customer needs. By leveraging APIs and collaborating with fintech companies, banks can offer seamless, personalized experiences, expand product offerings, and tap into new revenue streams. Succeeding in this dynamic landscape requires banks to prioritize secure, customer-centric platforms while navigating complex regulatory requirements.
We firmly believe that embracing these technologies is vital for banks to maintain competitiveness, meet customer expectations, and drive growth. By leveraging innovations such as AI, blockchain, cloud computing, automation, and digital banking, banks can unlock new opportunities and overcome industry challenges. However, it is crucial to address associated risks, invest in employee development, and ensure regulatory compliance to fully capitalize on these technological advancements.
Rajeev: Please shed some light on your BFSI solutions portfolio. Please name your best solutions that can make financial services faster and more cost-efficient.
Gautam: Banking and Financial Services (BFS) business at Coforge is differentiated for its ability to apply BFS domain and technology knowledge to modernize core platforms and automate processes with a view to enhance the customer experience, improve process efficiency and business resilience.
We specialize in transforming operating models to securely deliver software at speed and rapidly scale niche capabilities. We believe that banking enterprises are evolving entities where old, new, and emerging technologies co-exist. Every enterprise is unique in the way it delivers products and services to its end clients. Hence our solutions are always bespoke and designs evolutionary which sets us apart from our competitors. Moreover, we have a client-obsessed culture embedded in our service design and delivery chain that ensures the highest levels of client satisfaction.
We have a domain coverage that includes Central Banking, Retail and Corporate Banking, Buy side of Capital Markets, Mortgages, Financial Crime, and Central Functions that include Risk and Finance.
Our technology capabilities are designed and developed within these domains.
Central Banking: 50+ digital and data practitioners with deep understanding of business imperatives and role of technology in central banking operations particularly around its supervisory functions and upgrading the payment infrastructures.
Cards & Payments: 300+ techno-domain consultants driving in the critical payment infrastructure programmes in UK & Europe, global payments modernization for two large Fortune 100 global banks, card issuer platform modernization, surround capabilities (like loyalty programmes, NFC Card features) development and cloud migration.
Mortgages: 200+ Mortgage specialists driving UK’s largest Salesforce Financial Services Mortgage cloud implementation for one of UK’s top mortgage providers, 2000+ operations analysts adept at mortgage processing, 100+ Automation practitioners modernizing back office.
Retail & Corporate Banking: 200+ techno-domain consultants driving channel modernization, core platform modernization, advanced data analytics and big data platform building and cloud migration for leading banks globally.
Asset & Wealth Management: 1000+ techno-domain consultants with experience of financial product distribution, manufacturing and management. We provide technology modernization and operations services to leading front-to-back wealth and asset management platforms that manages and administers over $1.5 trillion in hedge, private equity, mutual fund and pooled or separately managed assets.
· Central Functions:
Financial Crime: 200+ techno-domain consultants with knowledge of detection and investigation engines. We are working on large-scale financial crime modernization programmes that involve building a new big data ecosystem, an integration layer to process data from multiple sources on integrating with leading platforms like Netreveal and crafting detection process on low-code platforms.
Financial Risk: 200+ Risk domain engineers building platforms to align its Risk (CRO) and Finance (CFO) areas to enable a fast, digital credit-granting process based on pre-evaluation of client reliability. Additionally building behavioral analytics for holistic assessment of risks during transactions. Furthermore, we have experience in building global audit workflows with the aim to standardize and adapt a digital audit process across the organization.
Rajeev: How do you see the potential of blockchain technology in uplifting the financial service industry workflow?
Gautam: Blockchain technology has immense potential to uplift the financial service industry workflow. It offers enhanced security through its immutable and cryptographically verified transactions, reducing fraud and unauthorized access. The decentralized nature of blockchain enables transparency, trust, and auditable transactions, streamlining processes like auditing and compliance. Coforge recognizes the significant impact of blockchain and DLT on the banking sector. These technologies offer the potential to streamline processes, strengthen security measures, and drive cost reductions. Through collaborative efforts with our clients and partners, we engage in initiatives spanning cross-border payments, trade finance, and identity management. However, the widespread adoption of blockchain and DLT necessitates overcoming challenges related to regulations, standardization, and scalability.
