An eye opener...
*Bid adieu Bank of India*
Hello everyone,
This is Manoj, Ex-Staff Officer [SM(IT)]. I joined BOI some nine years ago as an IT Officer. I resigned and was relieved on 19.05.2021. I have many things to say to you all directly. As everybody is aware that BOI is on the verge of privatisation. And almost all are blaming the Govt and Union leaders. But whether they are really the reason behind bank privatisation? Have you ever thought why BOI, along with some other banks, was selected for privatisation?
Once BOI used to be the fourth largest public sector bank and customers used to prefer it for banking purposes. But for the past couple of years BOI started losing its businesses and charm. Many customers including HNI started closing their accounts/relationship with BOI. Do you know what the reason is? *The reason is; BOI could not adapt / upgrade itself with the time. Along with other reasons the main reason is; BOI could not adapt properly and fully with digitisation aka digital banking which includes internet banking and ADC products and services. BOI could not deliver industry level digital products and services to the customers.*
How many BOI staff are using BOI credit cards? How many of you will agree that due to the worst experience with BOI internet banking many accounts have been closed? How often do you see BOI IB or card payment options in online transactions? How many branches are able to print PPF passbooks? How many customers are still using BOI POS machines? How many branches are having sufficient and updated Welcome Kit? To be very frank the answers of all above questions are negative.
*There is individual growth in BOI i. e; all the staff have equal opportunity to go to the higher positions viz, AGM, DGM, GM. Employees are getting timely promotion, salary, quarterly allowances, request transfer, LFC/LTC, festival advance and many other benefits But BOI is not growing as an Organization for the past couple of years. It really pained me and which compelled me to write down this mail.*
With the joining of officers having engineering, MBA, MCA etc. degrees there is very much skilled and efficient workforce at junior and middle level *but at the senior, upper and top management level there is lack of expertise and lack of brilliant minds.* Whatever systems, processes, applications and business model BOI is following, these all would have been vetted and approved by upper and top level management.
BOI has to revamp its business model if it has to become The Bank of Choice. We have to know, understand and meet customer's requirements rather than imposing faulty and cumbersome products and services. Mere writing and chanting the Vision and Mission will not serve the purpose. Expertise level work has to be done on all fronts and it should come from the Top or administrative offices. *With poor, ineffective, complex and faulty products given by Head Office, branches can neither bring new businesses nor retain existing ones.*
With my total experience of 9 + years in BOI I have listed out some points below where BOI has to pay attention to revamping its business model. *I request to take it as constructive feedback and nothing else.*
*1). Star Token || Internet Banking || Digital Banking: *
(A). Star Token has messed up things in internet banking and owing to which BOI has lost many valuable customers. The very purpose of star token is 2FA which can also be achieved by SMS. I have been using SBI internet banking service for the past 6 years by using SMS as 2FA. SBI never forced me to use any star token kind of thing. Whereas in case of BOI after six months or so use of star token is must. And once star token is activated, customer can not go back OR he has to personally visit the branch for making the request.
The reason being given for star token is: 'It's very much secure'. *There can never be absolute security.* We have to understand this. Further, there are transaction options in star token and for that separate txn password is to be set!!! How many passwords a customer can set and remember? If the very purpose of star token is 2FA, it should have been restricted to 2FA only. But in the name of security star token has messed up things and made simple things complex.
(B). Customers should not be forced to change their passwords. We can only educate and make aware them. We should not enforce things on them in the name of security. If anybody does not wish to change his credentials, he should not be enforced for updating credentials. There should be options; whether he wish to update or continue old passwords.
(C). When a term deposit is opened in IB, rate of interest is not shown there. When term deposit is created then only ROI is shown. ROI should be shown before creation, at the time reviewing.
(D). It takes 24 hrs time in crediting the proceeds of an FD which is closed through IB. But in SBI the amount comes immediately in the account. So here BOI what security is checking for which it is taking 24 hrs time? It is the customer money. Why he is being made to wait for 24 hrs for getting his own money? These are very basic and simple things which BOI HO IT dept is not able to do.
(E). Feeding standing instruction should be available at the time of opening RD ac. In present setup user has to navigate separately for SI.
(F). BOI has created many apps/digital channels but there is no syn among them. Some features are available in an app and some are not. *The point is instead of creating so many apps, just fully work on only one app and make it smooth working with all features which are required for today's customer.*
*IT Dept/ IT people should make things easy and simple so that even a layman should be able to use it. But BOI HO IT Dept thinks the opposite. They believe in making things difficult, complex and irritating.*
*(2). Staff Training Colleges:* BOI has sufficient STCs but the output of them is comparatively very minimal. Reason being STCs are teaching only theoretical knowledge. The very purpose of STCs' faculties should not be just swiping the PPT slides. They should be very knowledgeable and practical in their approach. They should teach about the issues and problems being faced by the staff in day to day branch operations. Deposit, Advance, other manuals and circulars should be taught and discussed in the class. Instead of teaching pre-selected topics in the class, the participants should be asked one by one to tell their queries. And faculties should elaborately discuss and resolve. Further, STCs faculties should periodically visit the branches under their jurisdiction for knowing the actual issues being faced by the branches and guiding the staff properly. The purpose should be to teach, guide and make aware the staff working in the branches so that they can properly attend and resolve the customers' queries.
There should be job cards / manuals for all menus of Finacle CBS. Otherwise new staff find it difficult and they have to search for someone who knows.
*(3). Branch / ATM Infra & Expansion:* Many BOI branches are not located in prime locations. Either they are in sub-way or inside. Getting prime location for all the branches is not possible but at least branch signage board should be placed in main route so that people would come to know about the existence of the branch.
I worked two years in Haldwani branch under Dehradun Zone but many people including localites were not aware about the existence of BOI branch there. Though its nearby to main road but its a little bit inside. Location is not the problem here but not a single branch signage board is affixed on the main road to show the direction of the branch. I had brought it to the notice of competent authorities then but in vain.
New Customers will come to the branch only when they are aware of the existence of it. *For getting more new businesses and retaining existing ones; there are two ways; Either we should have excellent products or we should be easily accessible to the people.* Its sad to say that BOI is lacking on both fronts.
Another thing, in many geographical areas BOI failed to capture the business by not opening new branches in spite of many opportunities in that area. Haldwani is a city in Uttarakhand but there is only one BOI branch and ATM here. Even small- small banks are having 3-4 branches because its a city and there are many business opportunities. Banks realised and sensed it a long time back except BOI. Owing to which many customers have closed OR are closing their accounts as other banks have opened their branches which are nearer to the customers.
*Branch premises and ATM rooms should be revamped. Mere writing BOI branch name on a premise or on ATM room does not attract customers. It should be appealing and attractive. You may see a branch and ATM of Canara bank from outside. The way it looks is just great.*
*(4). Administrative Offices:* Staffs / Officers at administrative offices viz; ZO, AMO, NBG and HO should be more knowledgeable, helpful and practical. They should be helpful to the branches rather than showing off their bossy nature. Many times branches have to speak up to HO Depts but either they donot have correct / updated contact no or they get no response. Telephone keeps on ringing but nobody attend it. Rather than sharing the contacts details through mail once in a year why not to keep the updated contact details in Finacle CBS itself. Further, only sharing the contact details will not serve the purpose, somebody / concerned employee has to attend the calls.
Bank is running and doing the business because of the branches only. They are toiling away and raising to every occasion for doing or bringing new business. Administrative offices should understand it. Before giving a target of opening 1000 accounts in a day ask yourself whether you can do it? Be practical in your approach. Any work which you cannot do ethically, don't expect others to do that. *First set example then lead by example.*
*(5). Helpdesk @ DC:* Helpdesk team DC is not that much efficient. Branches have to wait so long for getting resolved their issues. Even for small matters. Helpdesk should come into picture only for those issues or situations which were not thought of earlier. *But most of the calls lodged in HPSM are of recurring nature. Instead such issues should be fixed permanently.* Why to wait for the branches to suffer?
*(6). HO ADC Department:* This dept neither reply to the mails nor attend the calls. Because of such unresponsive nature branches are suffering and losing the customers. There was a menu for tracking debit cards in Finacle which is of no use. It does not show the current status.
BOI debit and credit card don't show at many payment gateways. Even BOI staffs themselves do not use BOI credit cards. They have just applied for it for the sake of being BOI staffs and meeting their branch target.
I once again request everyone to take aforesaid points as constructive feedback and nothing else. I just want Bank of India to grow and prosper as an Organization.
I also have an account with SBI. I went to a SBI branch only one day and that too for half an hour for opening the account some six years back. Since then I have never visited any SBI branch. I am smoothly and perfectly doing all account related operations and that too even without any app; through SBI website only. SBI never forced me to use YONO app. All the options are available in internet banking and it is very much easy to use. This is the Business Model which BOI has to learn. That's why SBI staffs say to the customers "लंच के बाद आना" because they have provided almost all banking services online which smoothly work without breaking the head and there is no need to visit the branch for every matter.
*In life each and everything is simple. It is as simple as 1+1=2. But we human beings, so called homosapiens, apply the mind where it is not required and don't apply where it is required.*
Regards,
*Manoj Kumar 'Devraj'*
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