Having completed his MCA form BIT Mesra and MBA in Finance & Corporate Strategy from Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, Parag is a highly qualified industry expert who has also finished his Professional Certificate Program in Innovation & Technology from MIT. With over 33 years of experience under his belt, he specializes in the areas of Product Lifecycle Management, Global Delivery, IT Strategy, Quality Assurance, IT Infrastructure Management and Internal Systems, to name few.

Siliconindia recently got a chance to interact with Parag Bhise, CEO, Nucleus Software, wherein he shared his insights on the current financial services landscape in India, IP rights’ impact on the sector and various other aspects. Below are the excerpts from the exclusive interview:

Q. What are your thoughts on the current financial solutions landscape in India?
A. These are very exciting times for the financial solutions industry in India. Being tech savvy, customers are looking for hyper personalization, have infinite options, and want services instantly. Thus, financial institutions have to be agile to deliver and keep-up with the changing technologies. Everyone is rushing towards hyper innovation so that they can launch new products & services quickly and easily. Thus, financial institutions feel the burning need to anticipate user needs, analyze millions of data points and be the first to reach-out to customers with innovative product offerings.

The financial services industry is also making tremendous efforts and utilizing technology to reach the unbanked and those in remote geographies where financial services penetration is very limited. To handle the multiple dimensions such as hyper agility, hyper personalization, hyper connectivity with the ecosystem and hyper innovation, the need to create ‘The Digital  Bank of Tomorrow? – Today’ is vital, and this can only be achieved through ‘True Digital Transformation’.

Q. From an Indian context, how important are IP rights in the financial services space?
A.In the Indian financial services space, intellectual property (IP) rights hold great importance, especially considering the transformative impact of Digital Transformation. IP in financial services is extremely important, and vital for the creation and survival of innovation and protection of investments. Just like in the pharmaceutical industry, where an unprecedented amount of investment is vested into R&D to invent new life-saving drugs, huge investment is made into creating an efficient IP product catering to the financial services industry. Building an IP solution requires innovation, complete domain expertise and a forward-thinking outlook to create products that disrupt the current way of doing business. Hence, protection of IP is crucial and vital for protecting investments and innovation towards an outcome that delivers exceptional value and benefits.

Q. What are some of the latest technologies currently disrupting the IP space, especially in the finance space?
A. Generative AI, Autonomic Systems and Privacy-Enhancing Computation are three technology trends gaining traction in banking and investment services. These technologies will help contribute to the top priority of FIs – growth, the need to manage risk, optimise costs and increase efficiency. Additionally, Composable Architecture and Total Experience are the top strategic technology trends gaining rapid momentum in banking and investment services. Banking CIOs today are aware that Composable Technologies, Hyper automation, AI to combat fraud, Conversational AI, Application Marketplace and Advanced Analytics are keys to building a strong technology foundation leading to ‘True Digital Transformation’ of an organisation. Technology products and solutions should have inbuilt capabilities to cater to these trends in order to stay competitive by enabling financial institutions to adapt effortlessly to the ever evolving landscape.

By the end of 2023, we can expect technology trends to continue to evolve, such as the increasing use of low-code platforms, emphasis on personalization, adaptation of payments, open banking, and increased focus on security. As per Gartner’s report on Strategic Planning Assumptions, by 2024, the design mantra for new SaaS and custom applications will be ‘composable API-first or API-only’, rendering traditional SaaS and custom applications ‘legacy’.

Q. What role does the government and other regulatory bodies play in maintaining IP hygiene and improving the financial services ecosystem in India?
A.Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has always acknowledged R&D and promotion of innovation as an integral part of the ICT ecosystem. Towards this, it has been supporting the entire value chain of R&D activities in the country ranging from the basic components to sophisticated product development in the ICT space. There are various initiatives and schemes being promoted by the government and other regulatory bodies for IP creation and protection.

Q. How do you expect the Indian financial services space to evolve in the days to come?
A. In recent years, there has been a notable shift in how both consumers and businesses access financial services, driven by the widespread adoption of technology. This transformation has had a profound impact and resulted in exponential growth across multiple sectors. Despite this global trend, India lags behind when it comes to access to formal credit and insurance penetration especially to the lower strata of the society and to rural India. Traditional banks in India face challenges such as outdated infrastructure, product silos, and conservative management, making it difficult for them to keep-up with agile fintech companies. However, there is immense potential for disruption and improvement in sectors like payments, lending, insurance, and wealth management technology.

Another emerging trend is a three way partnership between traditional financial institutions, fintechs that provide niche solutions in a limited space and technology companies that have traditionally been providing robust backend solutions. Lastly, with the unprecedented increase in the incidents of cyber-attacks, especially on financial institutions, it is but natural that a significant proportion of investments would get diverted to securing the infrastructure and applications that power the financial services sector.

About Nucleus Software

Nucleus Software Exports Ltd. Is a publicly traded (BSE: 531209, NSE: NUCLEUS), software product company that provides lending and transaction banking products to global financial leaders.

Nucleus Software delivers disruptive Fintech Solutions to 200+ Banks and Financial Institutions across 50 countries supporting Retail, Corporate & SME Finance, Islamic Finance, Automotive Finance, Captive Automotive Finance, Cash Management, Mobile & Internet Banking, Transaction Banking and more. We facilitate over 26 million transactions each day through our globally integrated transaction banking platform. Our lending platform manages US $ 500 billion of loans in India alone, and over US $700 billion of loans globally other than India, while enabling 500,000+ users to log in daily.

Our Flagship Products FinnOne Neo® and FinnAxia® are backed by 3 decades of BFSI domain expertise and an inbuilt AI powered platform to realize the digital transformation goals of FIs worldwide.

1. FinnOne Neo®: The next-generation digital lending platform, designed to revolutionize the lending process. FinnOne Neo® is built on an advanced technology platform, empowering financial institutions to streamline their lending operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive business growth.
2. FinnAxia®: An integrated global transaction banking suite, trusted by banks worldwide to optimize their transaction banking processes. With FinnAxia®, financial institutions can efficiently manage their cash management, trade finance, liquidity management, and other transaction banking activities on a single platform, thereby improving operational efficiency, visibility, and enhancing client relationships.
3. PaySe®: The world’s first online and offline digital payment solution, created with the vision to democratize money. This innovative payment solution offers users a seamless and convenient way to conduct digital transactions, both online and offline, facilitating financial inclusion and empowering individuals and businesses.
4. Nucleus Software Services: Our comprehensive suite of services is tailored to assist banks and financial institutions in their digital transformation journey and maintain an optimal technology infrastructure. Through Nucleus Software Services, we offer a holistic approach to digital transformation, enabling organizations to deliver seamless customer experiences, achieve operational and cost efficiencies, and gain actionable insights to drive strategic decision-making.

These offerings collectively underline Nucleus Software’s commitment to driving innovation and empowering financial institutions to thrive in an increasingly digital world.

For Media related information, please contact:
Deepika Gulabani
Corporate Communications
Email: deepika.gulabani@nucleussoftware.com
Phone: +91-9310334963