Banks need to invest in digital platform: PwC

MUMBAI: Country's lenders are not investing in digital platform for banking even as customers are ready to pay for service which they use, a survey by the consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has found.

"Banks have generally been slow to openly embrace the digital innovation...they (the customers) are willing to pay for these and yet the majority of banks still only provide basic mobile and internet banking services," PwC India's associate director for financial services, Robin Roy, said.

The commercial banks tend to see digital platforms only as a way to reduce costs and it is time they start to invest in their digital offerings keeping in with the expectations of the customers, he added.

PwC released a report titled "The Digital Tipping Point" said customers are willing to pay for extra services. 85 percent of those polled in India said they will pay for transaction notifications coming through social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Other areas where they are ready to pay include spending analysis tools, relevant third-party offers and storing documents in a virtual vault, among others.

Stating that the needs of the generation Y are different and that the grouping is very diligent in choosing whom they bank with, the report says, "The quality of a bank's digital offering will become a key determinant for customer stickiness."