Private sector lender ICICI Bank on Thursday said it has launched India’s first comprehensive digital ecosystem for all micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including customers of other banks. It has three pillars — enhanced banking services for existing customers; a bouquet of banking services to MSMEs, who are customers of other banks; and a whole range of value-added services for all.
The ecosystem, which offers an array of industry-first solutions, brings forth a significant shift from the existing industry practice where banks offer services only to their customers. Anyone can avail of the benefits of ICICI Bank’s digital solutions by simply downloading the new version of the InstaBIZ app, a super app for businesses, from Google Play Store or Apple App Store, or at the bank’s corporate internet banking (CIB) platform, the bank on Thursday said in a statement.
ICICI Bank Executive Director Anup Bagchi said, “We at ICICI Bank always believe that the MSME segment forms the backbone of the Indian economy. It has been our philosophy to enhance ‘ease of doing business’ for MSMEs and become partners in their growth. We have found out from our research that MSMEs understand the benefits that technology brings in.”
Bagchi added that MSMEs are keen to adopt digital solutions to simplify their way of doing business, so that they can focus more on growth. MSMEs also need a holistic platform that meets all their requirements. “Further, we believe that the benefits of our products and services should not be restricted only to our customers; those who bank with others should also have the choice to experience them.”
He added that the bank has launched a comprehensive digital ecosystem with open architecture by bundling banking services with value-added offerings to empower MSMEs, estimated to be around six crore. “We believe that these solutions for MSMEs will improve efficiency and boost their business.”
MSMEs, who are customers of other banks, can avail of a host of services from the bank’s digital ecosystem by logging in as a ‘Guest’ in the new version of InstaBIZ. The most important in the list of these services is the sanction of instant and paperless overdraft facility up to Rs 25 lakh.
“Named InstaOD Plus, the industry-first proposition enables customers of any bank to avail of an overdraft instantly through a few clicks either on the new version of InstaBIZ or CIB. Customers of ICICI Bank can activate the OD into their current account instantly while customers of other banks can do so after opening of a current account with the Bank digitally through Video KYC,” it added.
Another important facility being offered is instant opening of a current account digitally. The end-to-end paperless process leverages the bank’s advanced application program interface (API) that auto-fills the account opening form and validate PAN/ Aadhaar number instantly and allows opening of account through Video KYC.
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