HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Oct 31: HDFC Bank won the prestigious CII DX 2022 Digital Transformation Award for ‘Changing Customer Experience in Rural Banking’ in the category of Most Innovative Practice in Customer Experience through Digital Transformation. For the digital transformation initiative ‘Changing Customer Experience in Rural Banking,’ the bank tied up with over 5 lakh agents across India who took banking to the under-banked and the unbanked sections across the country.
Through this initiative, the bank addressed challenges such as sparse physical banking touchpoints in rural areas, the absence of the right products for the market, and a longer time to service their needs due to a lack of required documentation. The bank did this by offering banking services from local influencers in regional languages which eliminated the time effort required to travel to distant branches, giving access to a suite of over 45 products and services of the bank, and using digital solutions for quicker turnaround for credit approvals.
“We are delighted to be recognised by CII for this initiative. The Bank’s 5 lakh+ physical touch points offered 45+ products and services, to 2.7 million customers in rural areas. For this initiative, we married the physical outlet presence of the agent network along with technology to enable customers to receive tailor-made products and services of the Bank at their doorstep, while providing a source of income to about 5 lakh agents,” Smita Bhagat, country head – Government and Institutional Business, Alternate Banking Channels and Partnerships, Inclusive Banking Groups and Start-Ups, HDFC Bank.
