Meet the innovation drivers at the 1st edition of HDFC Bank’s API Banking Summit

HDFC Bank held the 1^st edition of its API Banking Summit in Bengaluru on December 17, 2019. As part of this first-of-its-kind event in the country, HDFC Bank had invited partners to use its open banking API services, which enable third parties to build services that can connect to its banking systems.

“Innovation is in the DNA of HDFC Bank. Our Bank is always striving to offer the best for our customers. An initiative like the API Banking Summit not only helps create a positive impact for our customers but also fuels innovation for the entire Banking Industry” said Mr. Arun Mediratta, Branch Banking Head- South, HDFC Bank.

And, at the Summit, five startups were awarded for their innovative solutions that integrated the HDFC APIs. These five winning startups were among the 24 startups that showcased their solutions at the summit. Interestingly, the summit had received 100 participating entries, out of which 24 startups were shortlisted.

Here’s what the winners had to say about how the collaboration with HDFC and the access to its API ecosystem will help them unlock further value for the business as well as the users.

Betterplace

600k+ background checks, $0.5m+ salary processing and 100k+ job seekers per month. That’s a peek into the scale at which Betterplace, India’s largest life-cycle management platform for the blue-collar workforce operates today. The Bengaluru-based startup makes products which empower people with access – to jobs, money, health and hence a better life – either directly or indirectly through businesses who employ such people in large numbers. Betterplace’s range of solutions include an all-in-one customisable digital platform that enables companies to undertake background verification, attendance management, automate salary disbursals and automate compliance.

“By being a part of HDFC Bank’s API Banking Summit, we hope to get HDFC’s buy-in to all the financial services to our users including a full-fledged saving bank account. We look forward to implementing their APIs to drive better value for our customers especially through KYC etc. as we serve the underserved. HDFC brings strong trust, brand value and legacy and a sophisticated network both in terms of operations and network to help you deliver volumes. We couldn’t ask for a partner to scale with,” said Ripan Dutta, Product Head - Finance & Health, BetterPlace

Hylo

Bengaluru-based Hylo’s neo banking avatar is solving challenges in SME value chain by digitising payments. It is a simple and easy to use tool in the hands of an SME owner. It enables Invoice collections, auto-recon, integrated payments & real time view into cash flow positions. Hylo’s solution gives real-time visibility on the cash or cheque collection done by field agents, bringing greater transparency amongst sellers & buyers. There are also no delays and leakages in determining the available capital for subsequent business.

Speaking about the collaboration possibilities with HDFC Bank, Vishal Gupta, Founder of Hylo said, “HDFC is the largest bank with the largest merchant ecosystem, large number of APIs access to potential market with HDFC. Having a partner like HDFC on board would increase levels of trust for our customers in secondary sales network who don’t have access to credit and insurance due to the lack of a digital footprint. Hylo comes in with a sweet spot by helping digitise the secondary sales network.”

GetOn Infotech

GetOn Infotech’s product for enterprises, Dial CRM, helps improve a company's interaction with current and potential customers. The Noida-based startup uses data analysis of the customer's history with the company to improve customer relationships, specifically focusing on customer retention and ultimately driving sales growth.

“We plan to use HDFC API for improving the way our customers manage theirs business transactions. We have quite a few use cases for implementing the APIs that are already available on dial crm platform for all our customers and we keep adding new modules as per the customer needs,” said Sachin Chauhan, Director, GetOn Infotech on the HDFC Bank API integrations already at play with Dial CRM.

Pennant Fin Services - LBIT

With offices in London, Dubai and Hyderabad, Pennant is a FinTech startup that offers a range of products that allow banks to make a direct impression on their clients, including specialised products for Islamic banking. Pennant delivers right-fit, next generation business driven, enterprise level software products and services focused on the BFSI sector across the world with its multi-lender platform for auto-dealers and a multi-dealer platform for lenders giving users a real time loan loan decision experience. The PennApps Product suite drives business process agility and establishes operational capability that accelerates revenue growth enabling banking and financial institutions to gain and retain their competitive leadership.

“Partnering with HDFC Bank will allow take other retail loan products from the same POS and offer our customers better rates in real time,” says Tagori Yerneni, Founder and CEO, LBIT.

ZAPfin Technologies (DocBoyz)

Pune-based DocBoyz Is a fintech startup that specialises in financial logistics, particularly ‘bank as a doorstep service’. They are helping in fabricate a world without fraud, as one of the leaders in modern banking and financial customer verification processes. DocBoyz deals in collection and analysis of customers documents through both online and offline method and reporting the same to banks and financial institutions after conducting a background check of customers. DocBoyz is fully committed to verification and validation of documents through the e-KYC process that involves AI to detect frauds beforehand. “HDFC Bank’s APIs will allow us to power financial inclusion faster, as the name brings with it a high trust factor, adds Ashok Kumar, Founder, DocBoyz.

The five winning startups were among the 24 startups across Payments, Customer Service, Customer Acquisition, Analytics, Social and Operational Efficiency, were shortlisted. These included startups like Hireka Services, Fee Plaza, Rupyz, Zenpay Solutions, among others.

A high-profile jury comprising of senior management of HDFC Bank that included Mr. Rajnish Khare, Head – Digital Transformation & API Banking, HDFC Bank, and Mr. Arun Mediratta, Branch Banking Head - South, HDFC Bank, selected the best solutions from the 24 shortlisted partners. The 24 have been chosen from over 100 entries received. The winners will get an opportunity to work with HDFC Bank.

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A successful inaugural edition

The excitement about the potential of HDFC’s API ecosystem among startups was evident at the summit and the solutions developed by the fintech startups gave a glimpse into its possibilities. Speaking about the success of the first edition of HDFC Bank’s API Banking Summit, Mr. Rajnish Khare, Head – Digital Transformation & API Banking, HDFC Bank said, “Our objective is to encourage innovation in the fintech space in the country, discover the best and adopt it to maximise customer experience and delight. Through the API Banking Summit, the bank will help create the latest banking facilities for its customers. As a leader in adopting innovation, it's only fair that we tap into the best and cement our leadership position."

Sharing his takeaways from the first edition of the summit, Arun Mediratta said, “This debut edition of HDFC Bank’s API Banking Summit was a fantastic forum to meet and interact with the ecosystem and get a better idea of the modern partner ecosystem out there. We hope to continue to engage with such ecosystem partners to drive innovation and financial inclusion, and add greater value for our customers.”

With over 100 APIs in ready-to-consume stage and the best banking security in the country, HDFC Bank offers a huge opportunity for third parties such as fintechs, aggregators, third-party service providers and platforms, direct selling agents and developers to build applications and portals using its open banking API services. These solutions would largely be in the areas of payments, customer service and customer acquisition.