IBS Coverage on TCS BaNCS Digital

TCS makes progress with its HTML5 app suite

 
IBS JOURNAL NEWS
17 JUNE 2015

N G Subramaniam, TCS - TCS makes progress with HTML5 app suite

TCS is moving ahead with its push into digital banking, with the latest releases of its TCS Bancs Digital apps suite, plus a number of initial takers, including Mercantile Bank in South Africa and Bank Yahav in Israel. The supplier claims its apps suite now spans around 40 processes, across retail, wealth and corporate banking. In addition, it is considering a form of app store, which would allow users and partners to develop and distribute their own apps.

Having initially launched its apps for Australasia (it claims a couple of takers here) and Asia, it has now released versions for North America (it also claims a taker here), South Africa and Israel, with Europe to follow. While the apps can work anywhere around the globe at a basic level, the geographical work is to adapt them for each regional 'ecosystem', says TCS Financial Solutions president, N G Subramaniam.

Examples of retail banking apps are for loan origination, money transfer, new credit card applications, and social media payments. Corporate banking apps include ones for cash management, positive pay, a CXO dashboard, and taxation authorisation. Example wealth management apps are for retirement planning and asset valuation.

The HTML5 apps fit within a 'framework' which includes integration through IFX standards and BIAN adaptors, with the latter used for deploying and consuming services. TCS was a founding member of IFX and is a proactive member of industry collaboration, BIAN. As an example of the type of integration needed, beyond that to the core banking system and other internal applications, such as an analytics platform, Subramaniam gives the example of an auto loan app which will be hooked into a dealer network. 

As part of the overall architecture, TCS also has some existing tools that can be brought to bear, comprising the TCS Listening Platform, which monitors social media, emails, new items and the like, TCS Network Finder, to identify connections and locations, and a TCS Digital Insights, which 'cleanses' this data to allow a 'contextual digital experience'. 

The apps can be used on a 'point' basis, says Subramaniam, if a bank wants to offer a simple, fast funds transfer capability, for instance. They can also be packaged and branded for different types of users, such as SMEs. The framework offers users the ability to control the user experience and to add apps, which is where the app store concept arises. Subramaniam envisages a TCS Bancs App Cloud, with TCS playing an assurance role such as ensuring compliance with standards and integration with other components, but with innovation not limited to its own efforts. The app store is on the 'drawing board', he says, probably for launch by Q4 2016. 

TCS Bancs Digital is being offered as an upgrade for the supplier's existing internet and mobile banking customers (Mercantile Bank was a 2008 signing for TCS's Bancs core platform, while Bank Yahav was one of the sector's standout deals of 2014). The need for a rewrite stemmed from the requirement to bring predictive and contextual content into the user experience, says Subramaniam. He also sees opportunities coming from the services side of TCS's business, with a lot of customers now coming up with digital banking requirements, which could be an app sale rather than a services sale. As well as banks layering apps onto their existing operations, he believes some are looking at setting up separate digital banks. Over time, he feels, those banks might migrate customers into the new entity from 'bricks and mortar' banking.  

The supplier set about rearchitecting its offering to take advantage of technology such as 3G/4G, interoperability (not only for customers but also within a single enterprise, such as for relationship managers and credit officers for mobile working) and 'responsive web design', such as offered by HTML5. TCS Bancs Digital has one code base supporting all devices. 

He believes that there has been a shift among users in the last two or three years which has seen digital banking shifting from being seen as an IT project to being a core business value. 'If you can’t do this, then you won't meet the demands of the customer and you'll no longer be relevant,' he feels. Digital banking needs to mirror people's digital lifestyles. 'This means reimagining the banking processes, to be secure, robust and meaningful.'

By Martin Whybrow