By Pinaki Roy
Ever since it came into existence over a decade ago, Kumari Bank Limited (KBL) has been at the forefront of innovations such as SMS Banking, Auto Sweep and Internet Banking. Providing competitive and modern banking services with high degrees of quality and customer satisfaction, KBL takes pride in its cutting-edge product line and new and better ways to enhance banking experience for its patrons at large.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that KBL has chosen to continue with its tradition of creating innovations and serve unfulfilled needs of all classes of customers located in various parts of the country. It has always focused at prioritising the priorities of its valued customers by offering modern and competitive banking products and services at their door steps. In recent times, the bank won the coveted Billionth Award South Asia for Kumari Mobile Cash in New Delhi, India, on 23 July 2011. It also launched Kumari Secure Mind Home Loan in August this year in association with Shikhar Insurance Company which promises to minimise risks on home loans.
mBILLIONth Award South Asia 2011
KBL bagged the mBILLIONth Award South Asia for Kumari Mobile Cash during the mBillionth South Asia International Summit 2011 held in New Delhi, India, on 23 July this year. The award was won in the m-business & commerce/banking category on a platform that recognised some of the key innovative applications and services and honoured excellence in the arena of mobile communications across South Asia. They were basically looking for new innovations which have impacted the overall economy, especially at the bottom-of-the-pyramid. And, Kumari Mobile Cash was our best bet, Radhesh Pant, the CEO of KBL reminisces. He informs that the bank did spend considerable time on its questionnaire as part of the preparation for the event.
From a total of over 200 applications from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, 21 were selected as winners spread across 11 core categories, with Kumari Bank, the sole winner representing Nepal. Pant delightfully states that the summit was a fitting platform not just for the bank to showcase its innovation but also for Nepal to show the world that it indeed has the capability to be recognised as a breeding ground for innovative minds. Winning a prestigious award like this has given the bank a boost and has helped people know more about the product besides, of course, bringing immense happiness to the KBL team. We are very happy because we believed in this product. The basic reality is that when our work is recognised, it gives us confidence and impetus to move forward,Pant announces cheerfully. The bank has calculated that if it could only tap 10 per cent of the total 10 million mobile users in Nepal, it will open an overwhelming opportunity with a million strong subscribers at its disposal.
Kumari Mobile Cash
This revolutionary service that uses mobile phones to provide access to financial services was launched by KBL on 17 August 2010 in partnership with Leapfrog Technology Inc, a Boston-based US firm with a development centre in Nepal. The first of its kind, Kumari Mobile Cash pioneered the mobile wallet concept in Nepal which allows users to store cash balances in their mobile phones. Users are then able to deposit and withdraw cash from their mobile phones and use the stored cash value for various purposes such as remittance, bill payments, and airtime recharge with the push of a few buttons. Currently, the customers can avail this service from Kumari Bank's branches or from its authorised agents present across the country.
Due to varied landscape and lack of physical infrastructure in Nepal, telecom is the best way to reach people in the hills and the mountains, says Pant. He adds, In a country like Nepal, access is very poor but at the same time, mobile usage is increasing at about 40 per cent each year. Quite obviously, we wanted to be the first one to launch mobile wallet to focus on the 70 per cent of the households not having any access to formal banking system.With 14,000 users and close to 200 transactions each day, Rs 5 crore worth of transaction has been realised since its launch of the plan around a year ago. I personally believe the future of banking will be technology-led and specifically, mobile-led, Pant declares brimming with confidence.
KBL has a contractual agreement with two of the largest telecom providers in the country namely Nepal Telecom and Ncell (these two operators collectively enjoy 95 per cent market share in the country). Close to 50 per cent of registered Kumari Mobile Cash members are non-bank customers. In a very short time span, the product has helped break traditional barriers in providing access to finance for the poor. With 70 per cent of the Nepali households yet to be tapped into formal banking, the bank believes that improving access to sustainable financial resources is real and achievable.
Kumari Secure Mind Home Loan
Most Nepalis dream to have their own house, which comes for hefty prices and that explains why home loans from banks and financial Institutions (BFIs) are so popular. However, the concept of disaster preparedness simply does not exist in the country where people don't do things until they are cornered in a crisis. Most people investing to buy houses are yet to realise the importance of insuring their houses. With this in the backdrop, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between KBL and Shikhar Insurance Company Ltd for Kumari Secure Mind Home Loan on 1 August 2011.
The agreement signed by Radhesh Pant, CEO of KBL and Dip Prakash Panday, CEO of Shikhar Insurance Company promises to work as a milestone for the entire financial services sector in days to come. We want to secure the home loans that people borrow. This scheme will ensure that the family does not suffer in the event of an untoward incident affecting the primary borrower, reasons Pant. The product is a long term credit to consumers for the construction of house for both individuals and developers. It covers purchase of ready house or apartment, renovation or extension of house or apartment, and refinancing of immovable private property that are already financed by BFIs and secured by a registered mortgage.
At times, the borrowers face various challenges in being able to pay back the loan. If the payment is made, the banks do not have any risk. Kumari Secure Mind Home Loan was launched to minimise the risks to both banks and clients in the event of non-repayment of loans by borrowers due to circumstances beyond their control such as critical illness, accidental death or permanent total disability and temporary loss of employment. All the existing customers of Kumari's Home Loan are eligible for the product and can avail this service from the retail unit of the bank. Basically, a partner product from Shikhar Insurance, the scheme is available only for Kumari's Home Loan subscribers.
Being the first one to launch such a product, the bank is confident of doing well but realises that its success will take due time. The bank knows that advocacy is the most important aspect of the scheme and has educated and trained its staff accordingly throughout the country. The idea is to have employees operating customer service and teller counters to disseminate the message to patrons visiting KBL branches. It also expects that a certain amount of exposure can be ensured through the media as well. Pant signs off on an optimistic note saying, “I know that people are not forthcoming about insuring their houses but this can change. We, at Kumari are very positive that the product will provide food for thought to investors deciding to secure their home loans.
