Encouraging banking customers to adopt digital practices not only helps in improving efficiency and reducing servicing time, but also helps create a positive impact on the environment.
Larger corporations are conscious of how their operations impact the environment. They are, therefore, focussing on managing their environmental footprint. Corporations have incorporated several changes to their operations in this endeavor. These include optimising energy consumption, reducing wastage of resources, and making sure to recycle and reuse.
The article explores how ICICI Bank, India’s leading private sector bank, integrating the idea of preserving the environment into their business paradigm, can have a positive impact.
The article provides depth insights into how its digital offerings helped customers having easy, 24×7 access to financial products and services, from the comfort of their home, and such offerings, have saved 90,000,00 (9 million) A4 size paper sheets during the year 2020-21.
The context
In 2020, the world was gripped by the unprecedented challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to deep changes, experiences, and lessons for nations, societies, individuals, and businesses.
ICICI Bank adopted a strategy, based on a customer-centric approach, enabled it to respond to the needs of their customers, and launched digital alternatives for them to stay connected and meet their financial needs.
The bank launched initiatives like ICICI STACK to enable banking on digital platforms for all customer segments. It provided innovative, convenient, and comprehensive digital experiences for the customers.
Environmental Initiatives
Environmental impact has become an important area of focus for larger business organisations across sectors, particularly as climate-related risks are increasingly becoming an important area of focus.
The Bank has established a social and environmental management framework as part of its credit risk assessment process. It continues to promote the renewable energy sector, either by way of financing sustainable capacity creation or by increasing its use in its operations.
The environment conservation strategy is focused on building and maintaining green places of work. Keeping in mind it has undertaken several initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint. Each of these initiatives is based on the core ethos of – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Harnessing Digitisation for Customer Convenience and Paper Saving
ICICI Bank is a pioneer in digitisation and the adoption of emerging technologies in banking. Its initiatives encompass digital re-engineering of its operations that provide an opportunity to manage environmental footprint while creating superior and delightful banking experiences for their customers.
“We believe that encouraging customers to adopt digital practices not only helps in improving efficiency and reducing servicing time but also helps create a positive impact on the environment.”, the bank said.
A large focus of its digitisation measures has been geared towards saving paper. It has moved a large number of financial services to the digital platform.
These services include opening a bank account and applying for a loan along with other regular banking transactions. During the fiscal, it also enabled digitisation of high-volume service requests on its mobile and internet banking platforms.
This has led to 98% of nomination updates, 60% of requests for change of address, and 28% of Re-KYC (Know Your Customer) and profile updates being undertaken digitally in fiscal 2021.
Owing to consistent communication and awareness programs, a large number of its customers have been amenable to the idea of adopting e-statements, physical letters, and information to be sent via SMS and emails.
Its customer-facing digitisation efforts include an array of initiatives like digital sourcing, reduction of paper-based application forms, elimination of paper-based transaction advice slips, and encouraging customers to adopt digital account statements.
Over 90% of its savings account transactions in fiscal 2021 were done through digital channels, which included internet, mobile, point of sale (POS), touch banking, phone banking, and debit card e-commerce transactions.
90%: Personal Loans
64%: SIPs initiated
75%: Credit cards
56%: FDs
Video KYC facility
During fiscal 2021, there were significant efforts towards decongesting processes and reducing the physical movement of documents. During the pandemic, it launched the Video KYC facility, which empowered retail customers to complete their onboarding process for savings accounts, personal loans, and Amazon Pay credit cards through a contactless video interaction. With this, the Bank does not need to take physical documents from customers and store them as the entire process is now digital.
This initiative has helped save 200,000 sheets of A4 size paper in fiscal 2021.
It has also migrated investment by retail banking customers in Government of India bonds to the internet banking channel. Nearly 70% of these investments now take place digitally, reducing significant consumption of paper.
It also enabled digitisation of high-volume service requests on its mobile and internet banking platforms. This has led to 98% of nomination updations, 60% of requests for change of address, and 28% of Re-KYC and profile update requests being undertaken digitally in fiscal 2021.
Digital adoption among business banking
Increasing digital adoption among business banking customers is also indicative of continuous commitment towards saving paper, the bank said.
In March 2021, 87% of payments done by business banking customers were through InstaBIZ, a mobile banking application for businesses, and internet banking. In Q4-2021, 60% of monthly average trade transactions were initiated digitally on its Trade Online portal, indicating a significant shift to paperless transactions in a hitherto paper-intensive segment of the business.
The bank has leveraged technology and data analytics to develop a bouquet of digital lending products that have made credit accessible and affordable for customers. During the year, a range of loans was offered as ‘instant loans’ to a set of ‘pre-approved customers. These offerings were end-to-end digitally processed. For instance, with instant processes like Express Home Loans, the entire loan sanction process is facilitated in just five simple steps and in a few minutes for eligible customers.
Impact
The bank also procures environment-friendly copier paper which is manufactured from wheat straw, an agricultural residue.
Its continuing efforts towards adopting digital initiatives in fiscal 2021 have led to savings of over 9 million sheets of paper, equivalent to saving nearly 1,100 trees and 4.5 million liters of water.
As per generic estimates, one tree makes 16.67 reams of paper (8,333 sheets) and around 500 ml water is required for one sheet.
