Awesome - ICICI Bank onboards #BBPS as a Biller

            The below screenshot says it all. ICICI Bank – Loans Department onboards #BBPS as a Biller.

            In simple terms, this means ICICI Loan Holders can repay their Loan Amounts via #BBPS.

            ICICI Borrowers have to key in the 16 Digit Loan Account Number in the specified field and the Bill will be fetched.

As of now clarity is awaited if regular EMIs can be paid via #BBPS or only overdue loan amounts can be paid via BBPS.

Hopefully, there will be clarity in the coming days.

ICICI Banks Retail Loans portfolio comprises the following mix: -

·         Home loans

·         Vehicle loans

-          Auto finance

-          Commercial business

-          Two-wheeler loans

·         Business banking

·         Rural loans

·         Personal loans

·         Credit cards

·         Others

-          Dealer funding loans

-          Loan against shares and others

 

 

 

ICICI Bank – Looking forward to #BBPS on your WhatsApp Banking Platform

            ICICI Bank today vide a Press Release informed that it has crossed an important milestone on its WhatsApp banking platform.

            It announced the crossing of 1 million (10 Lac) users on its WhatsApp banking platform.

            ICICI Bank achieved this milestone in a short span of three months and the next aim to double the user in the coming three months.

            The bank introduced WhatsApp Banking for its retail customers to access basic banking activities during the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown advisory.

            ICICI Bank customers and non-customers adopted WhatsApp banking platform with gusto and within 3 months, 1 million users experienced the joy of Safe Banking via WhatsApp.

To begin with, the Bank introduced services like savings account balance, last three transactions, credit card limit, get details of pre-approved instant loan offers and block/unblock credit & debit card in a secure manner with end-to-end encryption for all messages.

Buboed by the initial success, the Bank added several new features like opening instant savings account in a few minutes, access to pdf for our partnered newspapers / magazines, locating nearby essential stores and opting for loan moratorium to this service.

NRI customers too can access ICICI Bank’s WhatsApp banking platform.  

Services like checking account balance, last three transactions, applying for loan moratorium and revising credit card limit have seen the maximum usage.

Quote:

Commenting on the milestone, Bijith Bhaskar, Head- Digital Channels & Partnership, ICICI Bank said, “With the growing prominence of social media in every-day life, we believe that WhatsApp banking has offered immense convenience to our customers as it allows them to bank while they are on WhatsApp.

Customers can access a host of their banking requirements on their own, without visiting a branch. Over a million of users have adopted the service in a short span of three months.

We have mostly seen that millennials across the country are using WhatsApp for their banking needs. With the encouraging response, we aim to double the number of users in next three months to 2 million.”

Unquote:

            The customer sign-up process is fairly simple.

Customer has to follow below given quick steps, to avail the banking services on WhatsApp:

Save number and say ‘Hi’:

o   The customer simply needs to save ICICI Bank’s verified WhatsApp profile number, 86400 86400, to his/her ‘contacts’ on the mobile phone.

o   Send <Hi> to this number from his/her mobile number which is registered with the Bank. The Bank will respond with a list of services available

o   Type keyword for service: From the list of services, type the keyword of the service required (keywords are highlighted in the conversation for easy recognition), example: <Balance>, <Block> etc.

o   The service is carried out and displayed instantly.

Non-Account holders can access this platform for queries related to nearby offers, ICICI Bank ATM and branches through WhatsApp Banking.

The respective non-account holder has to add the number 8640086400 to his/her contacts and start a conversation by saying “Hi”.

Right now, the following Banking and Non-Banking services are available on ICICI Bank WhatsApp banking platform.

Banking services:

·         Account balance

·         Last 3 transactions

·         Credit Card Limit

·         Block /Unblock my card:

·         Instant loans exclusively for you:

·         InstaSave

 

Other Services:

·         Track deliverables

·         ICICI Bank ATMs near me - Top 3

·         Branches near me - Top 3

·         Newspaper

·         Magazine

·         Nearby Stores

·         Offers:

Users can expect more and more services in the coming days.

            One Banking service which will be appreciated by customers and non-customers alike is payment of Bills via BBPS i.e Bharat Bill Payment Services.

Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS)  eases the payment of bills and improves the security & speed of bill pay.

The service is available in multiple payment modes, online and through a network of agents. An instant confirmation is generated for the bill payments.

            There are more than 250+ billers on BBPS platform and it’s gaining traction every day. More and more residents are paying their bills via BBPS. The number of Biller categories is also on the increase. Adding BBPS to its WhatsApp Banking platform will lead to more repeat transactions.  

            BBPS transactions can be done by customers and non-customers.

 

Airtel Payments Bank – Batting for BBPS via UPI

            Airtel Payments Bank is spreading the Joy of BBPS via UPI through this tagline -

“Use UPI to make safe, quick and easy bill payments! #PaySafeIndia “

Airtel Payments Bank is offering INR250/- as cashback to all its account holders for paying BBPS Bills via its UPI handle.

            Clicking on the link prompts Airtel Payments Bank account holders to create a new UPI handle.

            Cashback is only given when the BBPS transactions are done via Airtel Payments Bank UPI handle, otherwise there is no cashback.

            With 245 Billers on BBPS as on June 30^th 2020, the opportunities for Bill Payments on BBPS is on the increase.

            Airtel Payments Bank recently launched 'Suraksha Salary' account. The focus group of this product is MSMEs employees.

            The new account holders of 'Suraksha Salary' product will be happy to pay BBPS Bills and get cashback for the same.

 

 

When will CRED activate BBPS (Bharat Bill Payments System) option?

            CRED is an Invite only Credit Card Bill Payment App. Entry to CRED App requires a minimum CIBIL score of 700. The USP of CRED is its rewards points offered to its members for paying credit cards bills via CRED App.

            The Rewards are highly personalised depending on the member’s location, spend pattern, spend categories etc.

            Another CRED USP is the CRED protect feature. CRED Protect Feature is an AI backed system which is designed to track the complete journey of member’s credit card transactions i.e right from the transaction till the payment.

CRED Protect Feature reminds members of the due dates, analyses spend patterns, displays rewards points and other credit card statistics. 

            For CRED Protect Feature to be active, the member has to update the email id on which Credit Card Statement is received.  

 

            CRED just rolled out two new features on its APP i.e CRED Stash and RentPay.

‘CRED Stash’ is a Personal Loan product, aiming to offer a low-interest instant credit line, through a pilot with IDFC First Bank

‘RentPay’ is for monthly rent payments using credit cards.

Both the products are designed to increase the members interaction with CRED App, instead of accessing the app only for payment of credit card bills.

The curated rewards on the CRED App also are designed for increased interaction between members and CRED App.

Valuable statistics about CRED members can be collected via RentPay. These statistics can assist CRED Team to further fine-tune its offerings.

The next step to increase CRED App usage and encourage CRED Stash can be #BBPS.

The popularity of BBPS is on the increase. On an average, every day 5 lac Bill Payments are taking place on BBPS.

170+ billers are LIVE on BBPS with new billers being added every week. New Biller categories too are getting on-boarded.

Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) is an integrated bill payment system in India offering interoperable and accessible bill payment service to customers through a network of agents of registered member as Agent Institutions (AI) enabling multiple payment modes, and providing instant confirmation of payment.

            Key Benefits for CRED to integrate #BBPS into its platform.

01)  A good chunk of credit card transactions are towards Electricity, Water, Society Maintenance, Phone Bills, Taxes, Education Fees, Local Taxes, FASTag Recharge, insurance premiums. Loan EMIs via Credit Cards are still rare. Members will be happy to pay their BBPS bills via CRED App if the payment process is smooth and the famed CRED AI assists them in choosing the best credit card for payment.

02)  Bill Payments have a high recurring mode and members will access more and more the CRED App for day to day activities.

03)  Members will be encouraged to pay not only their own bills, but also bills of their friends and relatives.

 

Requisites:

A)     Integrate with a BBPOU. Level of Difficulty - Medium – CRED has tied up with AXIX Bank for it’s UPI handle and Axis Bank is active on BBPS platform too.

B)     Finalise the BBPS Payment Modes. Level of Difficulty – Medium – There can be only two Payment Modes i.e UPI and Credit Cards. UPI payment is already active on CRED. Credit Card Payment too is already active on CRED.

C)     Build a matrix for the member to decide the best Credit Card for payment of BBPS Bill. The matrix should display the 1) Due Dates of the linked credit cards 02) Approximate reward points per credit card for the specific transaction. Level of Difficulty - Medium – CRED already displays the due date.

D)     Build a matrix for ‘CRED Stash’ Credit Line for members to avail if and when required to pay their BBPS Bills. Level of Difficulty – Medium – This is not a difficult matrix as the basic blocks are in place.

E)     Reminder Matrix – Once the member fetches the respective bill, an reminder matrix for payment of the same. Almost all billers offer 15 days grace period. The reminder matrix can assist the members to pay their bills 3 days before the due date, instead of paying on the bill generation date. Level of Difficulty – Medium

So, when will CRED activate #BBPS on its App?

 

Disclaimer: As #friendofBBPS, my only Aim is to the Average Transaction Amount and Bills Volumes on BBPS. Nothing More, Nothing Less   

 

 

My Key Takeaway from the Chat between Mr.David Velez and Mr.Jitendra Gupta

          I was fortunate to be part of the chat between Mr.David Velez and Mr.Jitendra Gupta on 26^th  June 2020.

          The theme of the Chat was ‘Insight’s from NUBank Journey’. Mr.David Velez, Founder and CEO, NUBank was the guest and Mr.Jitendra Gupta, Founder and CEO, Jupiter was the Host.

          There were multiple takeaways for the audience from the chat which lasted about 45 minutes.  

          The key takeaway for me is: -

A)   Choose the less travelled path, have patience and success will be besides you. NUBank started of its journey with a Credit Card product rather than a Debit Card product. This was a bit risky, as most of NEO Banks started their journey with a Debit Card.

 

 

Other minor takeaways are:

01) This saying attributed to Mahatma Gandhi occupies a place of pride in NUBank’s Head Office -- First, they will ignore you, then they will laugh at you, then they will fight you and then you win”

02) Company culture is an important pillar for the company’s growth. The founders should not deviate from the company’s culture.

03) Customers prefer free services over paid services.

 

Brief about NUBank:

01) 2013 – Founding Year

02)  2014 – Launch of International Mastercard Credit Card. NIL Fees and can be completely managed through a Mobile App

03)  2017 – Launch of its loyalty program -- NUBank Rewards. The reward points never expire. 30 days freelook period followed by fees.

04)  2017 - Launch of NuConta – Digital Account

05)   2018 – Launch of Debit Card

06)  2019 – Launch of Personal Loans  

 

 

Brief about Jupiter:

 

01) Built with LOVE in India

02)  On the way for a Beta Launch in India

 

If you too were part of the Chat, what is your takeaway?

 

Disclaimer: The takeaways are my personal opinion only.