ICICI BANK LTD

Technology organization

Dedicated technology teams are responsible for the implementation and support of technology platforms and solutions used across various business functions. There are specific technology verticals which are focused towards specialized technology functions such as core, data and intelligence, customer engagement, employee engagement and federation. The technology infrastructure team is responsible for facilitating the technology infrastructure across data centers, networks and cloud infrastructure. The Technology Management Group is a team which is responsible for the technology strategy of the Bank including implementation of enterprise architecture. Our startup engagement and investment team seeks to leverage innovation in the startup and technology ecosystem.

In fiscal 2024, we continued to invested in key technology solutions which provide us with a competitive edge across business and operational capabilities. From a business perspective, the priorities driving our technology focus include improving customers’ digital experiences across various touch points and enabling sales and cross-selling of products and services with data serving as the foundation for informed decision-making leading to the creation of comprehensive value propositions for customers. We are constantly upgrading and strengthening our technology infrastructure with a goal to maintain a secure, stable and resilient infrastructure and improve operational efficiency. Business process optimisation is occurring through adoption of intelligent automation platforms including robotic processes and Optical Character Recognition capabilities which has enabled efficiency across business and operational functions. These have brought about faster turnaround time as well as enabling increased capacity for handling transaction volumes and customer requirements. As part of our technology strategy, we focus on creating an enterprise architecture framework across digital platforms, data and analytics, micro services-based architecture, cloud computing, cognitive intelligence and other emerging technologies. This is based on the founding pillars of scalability, resilience and security, and creating delightful and digitally native customer experiences to enable sustainable profitable growth. The key priorities that dominate our technology requirements include our technology platforms, embedded banking, cloud adoption and data platforms and analytics.

We have a dedicated data science and analytics team that works across business areas on projects relating to business analytics, decision strategies, forecasting models, machine learning, rule engines and performance monitoring. We maintain a comprehensive enterprise wide data warehouse and employ statistical and modelling tools for leading-edge analytics.

In driving an innovation and start-up mindset, we have set up an Innovation Centre to collaborate with and invest in fintech startups and co-develop products aligned with the Bank’s digital roadmap. The engagements with the startups are focused on payments, digital lending, customer experience, risk management and platforms.

Digital platforms and journeys for retail customers

Our retail internet banking platform and the iMobile Pay (mobile app) are designed to meet the overall needs of our customers. Our retail internet banking interface offers adaptable features, while iMobile Pay's open architecture ensures seamless payments via the unified payments interface. Security is paramount and is ensured through advanced encryption and multi-factor authentication methods.

The iMobile Pay prioritizes accessibility with a user-friendly interface for easy navigation and access to over 400 services including account management, fund transfers, bill payments, and investments. Additions to iMobile Pay encompass the launch of ‘My Investment Portfolio’, featuring a dedicated section offering ICICI Bank customers a unified view of their investments. Furthermore, the introduction of iFinance (powered by account aggregator) presents a comprehensive solution, accessible to all users across ICICI Bank's digital platforms, enabling a consolidated view of all bank accounts in a single location. Our retail internet banking platform and iMobile Pay offer instant approvals and disbursements for home loans, car loans, personal loans and credit cards. Digitized loan processing enables instant disbursement for pre-approved customers. Video KYC empowers retail customers to complete the ‘Know Your Customer’ process via video interaction within minutes and is available for 22 products, including re-KYC. ICICI Bank’s mobile app strategy aims to deliver a convenient, secure and personalized banking experience.

iLens, ICICI Bank’s lending solution, is an integrated loan processing platform for retail loans. It is an end-to-end digital lending platform covering the entire loan life cycle, starting from onboarding to disbursement with the objective of providing superior transaction experience and enhanced operational efficiency. During fiscal 2024, in addition to mortgage loans, personal loans and education loans were added on the iLens platform. This is expected to further enable us to provide enhanced customer experience and increase our ability to capture the entire customer ecosystem in a simplified, frictionless and digital manner, thereby creating value for the customers and the Bank.

Digital payments and partnerships

We have continued to strengthen our efforts in creating a seamless digital journey with user-friendly experiences. Partnerships with technology companies and platforms with large customer bases and operational excellence offer unique opportunities for growth and enhancing service delivery and customer experience.

FASTag is an electronic toll collection system in India operated by the National Highways Authority of India through prepaid radio frequency identification tags. We are one of the leading banks in electronic toll collection on highways through FASTag. We have not only pioneered the usage of FASTag for toll payments at various national and state highway but also expanded the usage of FASTag for parking payments at airports, malls, hospitals and tech parks across the country. ICICI Bank Fastag's auto-recharge feature ensures seamless toll payments by topping up the prepaid account automatically when the balance is low, facilitating hassle-free commuting.

We have partnerships such as with Amazon Pay, a leading global ecommerce company, and MakeMyTrip, a leading Indian online travel portal, Emirates Skywards and others to offer co-branded credit cards. We offer these credit cards to both our customers as well as non-ICICI Bank account holders. Amazon Pay credit cards continued to see healthy traction with over 4.9 million Amazon Pay credit cards issued as of year-end fiscal 2024. We aim to provide comprehensive solutions to the new-to-bank customers that have been acquired through Amazon Pay credit cards. The growth in credit card transactions was driven by higher activation rate and effective portfolio management, facilitated by digital customers onboarding processes.

Digital platforms and solutions for rural customers

We use imagery from observation satellites to measure an array of parameters related to the land, irrigation and crop patterns which is used in combination with demographic and financial parameters to make expeditious lending decisions for farmers. This has helped in reducing the time for credit assessment.

Technology in debt service management

Our Debt Servicing practice has been built on the core of leveraging on technology and advanced data analytics that enables us to reach Right Customer at the Right Time using non-intrusive channel at an optimal cost. We collect over 40% of our early defaults through Machine Learning Technology based risk models using contactless channel i.e. interactive voice bot, intelligent Interactive Voice Response and Short Messaging Service in more than 13 languages. We have been using various digital payment solution that helps in collecting over 90% of payments digitally. For our Rural portfolio we use satellite based images and data algorithms of crop growth to enhance the collection efficiencies and productivity.

Digital platforms and journeys for business banking customers, small and medium enterprise customers, merchant ecosystem and ecommerce ecosystem

Our digital platform, InstaBIZ, is a one-stop solution for all banking needs catering to small and medium enterprises, individuals, proprietors and merchants. We have seen an increase in the engagement level of customers on the InstaBIZ app. In line with evolving trends of shift towards open architecture, the InstaBIZ app is interoperable and is available to both ICICI Bank customers and non-ICICI Bank customers for multiple solutions. Any customer can now open current account instantly through Know Your Customer Video (video KYC) in a seamless, paperless manner. Through ‘InstaOD Plus’, customers of any bank can avail an overdraft up to Rs. 2.5 million instantly. Our customers can activate the overdraft facility into their current account instantly, while customers of other banks can do so after opening of a current account with us digitally. InstaBIZ offers the most comprehensive solutions specifically designed for merchants and retailers through a dedicated section for merchants, ‘Merchant View’. Through the ‘iFinance’ feature, customers can link their accounts at any bank to InstaBiz and view their account balance and statements in a single place. Customers can experience round-the-clock trade solutions on InstaBIZ for all the export-import requirements. InstaBIZ has solutions for all the business banking needs eliminating the need to manage different platforms for customers.

Our Trade Online platform allows customers to perform most of their trade finance and foreign exchange transactions, such as regularization of bill of entry and export bills, accessing letters of credit and fixed deposit backed bank guarantees, accessing export credit, and facilitating import and export bill collections digitally. With a view to meet the working capital requirements of exporters, we have launched Insta Export Packing Credit, a digital solution, which offers instant export finance to customers. In fiscal 2024, the Bank enhanced its bank guarantee offering by introducing Smart BG Assist. This makes the bank guarantee text creation process seamless by empowering the customers with a do-it-yourself experience, providing real-time feedback.

Our APIs for trade finance, a solution that establishes a direct communication channel by linking the customer’s enterprise resource planning and the Bank’s internal systems for data and documents to flow in a secure and seamless manner. Trade APIs enable end-to-end encryption of data and real-time updates. It helps in streamlining the flow of information from the customers’ ERP to the Bank’s systems.

Our strategy in the merchant ecosystem space involves onboarding merchants through acquiring platforms or by providing them payment gateways and then cross-selling other financial products and services seamlessly. Our “Merchant STACK” offers an array of banking and value-added services to retailers, online businesses and large e-commerce firms. Current accounts for individuals and sole proprietors can now be opened swiftly through the video KYC process. We have continued our investment efforts in enriching the product offerings for merchants by introducing functionalities such as voice notification of quick response transactions on the Instabiz app, acceptance of Rupay credit card on QR, customized settlement cycles and more. Merchants can also perform instant reconciliation by using the Connected Banking services, which integrates banking with the merchants’ accounting system. The Merchant STACK also offers a digital store management feature for invoicing, inventory and collections management.

The e-commerce ecosystem lends significant opportunities for us to offer digital solutions to customers and merchants selling their goods through e-commerce websites. Our ‘Cardless Equated Monthly Instalment facility enables our pre-approved customers to convert their transactions into equated monthly installments at the check-out section of the e-commerce website or mobile application. Some key solutions offered to e-commerce entities and their sellers include an overdraft facility, composite pay Application Programme Interfaces enabling payments through various channels, foreign currency fixed deposit, working capital and easy payment solutions. For customers utilizing e-commerce platforms, we offer solutions such as digital wallets, prepaid cards, co-branded credit cards, and instantaneous credit through the Bank's PayLater solution.

Digital platforms and solutions for corporate and institutional customers and their ecosystems

“ICICI STACK for Corporates” offering comprehensive solutions to corporates and their ecosystem like channel partners, dealers, vendors, employees and other stakeholders, thus bringing the full range of banking services to the customer. ICICI STACK for Corporates offers customized services to companies in over 20 key industries and their entire ecosystem. Platforms offered to corporate customers as a part of ICICI STACK for Corporates include Corporate Internet Banking, Trade Online and FX Online, and other platforms.

Trade Emerge, an online platform for cross-border trade, is a one-stop solution for all the trade related needs of exporters and importers. It eliminates the need for companies to coordinate with multiple touchpoints. Trade Emerge has also been integrated with Corporate Internet Banking and InstaBIZ and Trade Online to ensure that all banking and other needs of exporters and importers are fulfilled inside the ICICI ecosystem. During fiscal year 2023, we increased the scope of services being offered on Trade Emerge platform by partnering with service providers who are industry leaders. These additional services include warehousing, inland logistics, logistics documentation and regulatory information. We have also enabled instant and hassle free current account opening on Trade Emerge and have set up a dedicated phone banking team, which will help us in catering to customer needs more quickly.

Supply chain financing is an integral part and a focus area towards deepening our coverage of the corporate ecosystem. Our wide range of supply chain and structured trade products offers a one stop solution to corporate clients and their supply chain partners helping in optimizing their working capital needs and increasing efficiencies in their ecosystem. These supply chain solutions are offered digitally through our platforms namely OneSCF, FSCM, CorpConnect and DigitalLite, wherein corporates can seamlessly manage their supply chain requirements of payments, collection, data reconciliation and customized dashboards in a convenient and paperless environment thereby bringing in efficiencies in the corporates supply chain management. Our digital approving engine assess the credit eligibility of the corporate’s dealers and vendors for credit through business rule engine, Goods and Services Tax returns, intelligent algorithm with automated bureau checks, dedupe checks.

Our treasury-trading infrastructure has an internet protocol telephony based architecture. We have enhanced our existing process of automation in the treasury business, thus reducing trading risks and enhancing market competitiveness. The iTreasury feature on our corporate internet banking platforms offers a unified, intuitive, one-view dashboard to corporates to meet their treasury requirements.

Data Center and Disaster Recovery System

We have a data center at Hyderabad, which is designed to optimize energy efficiency and accommodate high server densities. We also have a co-located data center which acts as a near site recovery point for critical systems in Hyderabad. We also have a disaster recovery data center at Jaipur. We are also creating additional capacity through new data centers in Mumbai. We have developed business continuity plans, which would help facilitate continuity of critical businesses in the event of a disaster. These plans are tested periodically and have been prepared in line with the guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India and have been approved by our Board of Directors. The Bank has also equipped itself with state-of-the-art infrastructure management systems which leverage Internet of Things based technology at its data center for optimal utilization of energy and reduction of operational costs.