According to the World Bank, 1.7 billion adults are still unbanked today in 2022, this is close to one-fourth of the world’s population. In 2014, the figure was two billion, proving that change is happening, but more needs to be done.
Several countries in Southeast Asia rank high on the list of unbanked populations. In the Philippines, 71 per cent of the adult population is unbanked, and 40 million adults remain unbanked in Myanmar.
Bangladesh, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan are high on the list too. By their sheer size, China and India have a vast unbanked population despite having relatively high account ownership.
But behind these statistical perspectives, there are human stories that reveal everyday sacrifices and struggles faced by populations in the rural areas who would, at times, travel for two days just to reach a bank.
This was the reality that inspired Ragu Senthil Kumar and me to establish on one of our annual road trips.
A road trip that led to a startup genesis
Both Ragu and I have a unique method of ideation. While driving through the countryside of India during the journey, we outlined our strategic plans for the year to follow.
On one of our annual road trips, this time through the countryside of India, we found ourselves depleted of cash. In search of an ATM between the southern Indian towns of Ooty and Mysore, we finally found one near the small municipality town of Gundlupet, but not until we realised that we had travelled a good 100 kilometres just to withdraw cash.
Silence followed for the rest of the drive as we imagined what the local community must be going through on a daily basis to access a bank, especially in case of emergencies. We wanted to dive deeper.
Through our interactions with locals, we understood that lack of documentation became a barrier to opening bank accounts. This also leads to a lack of credit scores, forcing people to take out loans from moneylenders at exorbitant interest rates, which they struggle to repay and face running into massive debt.
For the banks, profitability and the investments needed for physical branches became huge barriers. They are also bogged down by outdated legacy systems, time-consuming processes, overcrowding in branches and staff-training costs.
Turning divides into dividends
From then on, we realised the need to revolutionise banking access through digitisation.
Also Read: Deconstructing digital banking – How it can cater to the underserved in Malaysia
Bank-Genie was initially founded to bridge technology to banks and microfinance institutions by offering a comprehensive suite of digital banking features, aimed at banking experiences at a low cost.
This solves one main problem by helping banks break the traditional approaches in banking with technologies that will eventually lead to branchless banking.
Ultimately, our approach would ease the entire customer journey experience in banking and turn pre-digital divides into impactful digital dividends.
In 2019, we launched BanqIn, an instant all-in-one digital core banking platform that provides banks with instant access to field-based data capture, mobile money integration, SMS communication with clients and automated credit check features to change the way they serve customers.
Not only that, we continuously innovate banking solutions to serve the unbanked who reside in remote areas, including a suite of products that enable the opening of accounts and the processing of transactions through seamless processes.
When purpose meets passion, success is inevitable
While our startup journey officially began in Africa, we have managed to further our footprint to help even more unbanked populations in the Philippines, Myanmar, Central Asia and India.
And seven years since its inception, we are glad to have partnered with over 30 banks, including banks in the Philippines (BDO, EastWest, Unionbank), Nepal (NMB Bank), Ghana (Calbank, CBG), Sierra Leone (SLCB), and many others, in their transformational journey towards digitisation.
But no transformational journey, especially at this scale, is without challenges. From the onset, we have met with resistance to change that still persists within financial institutions, and this will, unfortunately, continue to be a hurdle.
Nevertheless, our goal remains intact, with a vision set to change the lives of the unprivileged with access to banking.
Witnessing first-hand how technology and innovation can augment the roles in people’s lives, generating additional income, channelling their savings, turning it into investments and building assets, fostering education, allowing for insurance and help amidst uncertainties.
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