INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
SINGAPORE: DBS Bank, which may become the first foreign bank to set up an Indian subsidiary, plans to attract customers through fintech
firms rather than spending much on physical infrastructure.
But the bank is not looking at buying strategic stake in such firms or payment
apps in India at this point of time like it did in Singapore, chief executive Piyush Gupta told ET.
It has inked tie-ups with cabs
aggregator Ola and financial products market place Paisabazaar in India and looks to take a few more on board for customer acquisition,
and payment services on its platform in the sovereign city-state.
In India, it is busy in converting itself as a banking subsidiary, and is
expecting the final licence from the Reserve Bank of India in a month or two to set up the wholly-owned unit.
RBI allowed foreign banks to
set up subsidiaries in 2013
Operating as a subsidiary would remove the restrictions in business expansion in India including the one that pertains to opening of
As spending on physical infrastructure is costlier than digital mode of expansion, DBS Bank plans to take its branch count to merely 50 from
12 now over the next year
36.5 crore affluent and emerging affluent customers through digital channels
At present, it has a skeletal consumer banking business in the country.
The bank plans to offer financial products mostly through
and build front-to-back digital servicing model using artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot to minimise manual processing.
It invested Rs
500 crore in March to take its total capital in India to Rs 5,000 crore.
(The author was in Singapore at the invitation of DBS Bank)
