Amid COVID-19 pandemic, ICICI bank HDFC Bank and State Bank of India (SBI) are the three banks that transformed themselves almost overnight to serve their account holders (customers) this year. In doing so, they also trumped their newer counterparts including Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank, according to the BFSI Movers and Shakers 2020 Report by Wizikey.
As per the report, the top 10 banks in India in 2020 were HDFC Bank, ICICI, SBI, Yes Bank, PNB, HSBC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bank of Baroda, Deutsche Bank and IDBI.
“The three banks that transformed themselves almost overnight to serve the Indian consumer through the arterial reach that they have include ICICI, HDFC, and SBI. All three had high sentiment and volumetric scores. These leaders of the banking ecosystem trumped their newer counterparts including Axis and Kotak Mahindra…,” the report said.
In 2020, the banking system played a critical role in the economic recovery by supporting businesses and individuals through the COVID-19 crisis.
During the year, the traditional banks were trying to match the massive shift in demand from physical banking to online banking with customers having shifted to digital channels and seemingly being happy to stay online, the report noted.
Banks and most of the BFSI players have reimagined and built simple, intuitive, digital-native, and ecosystem-driven customer journeys for better customer engagement, it added.
Moreover, contactless payments through QR codes, wallets, UPI, or contactless cards gained popularity as they offered convenience, safety, and security while allowing the consumers to maintain physical distancing.
“While uninterrupted 24 X 7 digital banking services were launched, the real differentiator for banks was their ability to play a more integral role in their customers’ lives. Certain technologies such as virtual assistants, live chat for additional customer support, WhatsApp Business, marketing automation were integrated as part of the digital revolution,” it said.
The year 2020 also saw UPI and Wallets spring into high action as they found a new opportunity in making a dent with the customer.
The report said that in a locked-down world, Google Pay emerged as the number one mover and shaker, followed by Phone Pe. While Whatsapp buzzed with the launch of payments it stayed behind all other players in the category. Neo Banks was another category which witnessed a lot of buzz in the year riding the trend owing to the digitisation that has been under progress for years. YONO emerged as the number one followed by Niyo and Kotak 811 at ranks 2 and 3 respectively in the category.
