ICICI Lombard Becomes One of The 1st Indian Insurer with Fully Automated AWS Multi-Region DR, Enabled by TCS

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) a global leader in IT services, consulting, and business solutions, has successfully enabled ICICI Lombard to achieve fully automated AWS multi-region Disaster Recovery (DR) switchover. This establishes ICICI Lombard as one of the first insurance companies in India to achieve fully automated multi-region resilience on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud.

The innovative DR solution—designed to ensure business continuity in the face of unexpected disruptions—leverages automation-first, infrastructure-as-code approach. It leverages AWS-native technologies to enable intelligent, automated failover for key systems with minimal downtime or manual effort. With TCS as its growth partner, ICICI Lombard has been operating on AWS Cloud since 2021. To strengthen business continuity and achieve geographical redundancy, TCS helped the insurer establish a robust, scalable and fully automated DR setup.

Girish Nayak, Chief – Technology and Health (Underwriting & Claims), ICICI Lombard, said, “With resilience at the core of our digital operating model, and TCS as our strategic technology partner, we’ve been able to transform our disaster recovery capabilities into a truly agile, automated and cloud-native setup. This not only enhances our readiness for unexpected infrastructure disruptions but also reinforces our commitment to uninterrupted service to our customers. I would like to thank and congratulate TCS for enabling this automated disaster recovery solution by leveraging their cloud expertise in the insurance domain.”

TCS brought on board its deep domain expertise in the insurance industry and used its contextual knowledge of ICICI Lombard’s systems to deliver a best-in-class DR solution. The automation solution was built using highly performant data driven serverless architecture designed for large scale orchestration. This implementation not only improves operational resilience and reduces recovery time but also sets a new industry benchmark for automated disaster recovery in the BFSI sector.

Ujjwal Mathur, President & Country Head – India Business, TCS, said, “This engagement highlights our commitment to helping clients achieve next-generation resilience through cloud-native innovation. This intelligent, automation-led DR solution sets a new benchmark for BFSI organizations by enabling seamless, fast and scalable disaster recovery with zero touch. We are proud to partner with ICICI Lombard to reimagine infrastructure resilience in this digital era.”

TCS has been ICICI Lombard’s strategic IT partner since 2006 and has been managing their datacenter operations since 2013. TCS has been instrumental in seamlessly migrating all the ICICI Lombard applications to public cloud in 2021 and has since been supporting the ICICI Lombard cloud environment. It is now modernizing the insurer’s systems – Project Orion – with TCS BaNCS™ Insurance being deployed as part of the program. TCS is a leading player in the BFSI sector, partnering with top banks, leading insurance firms, prominent capital market entities, major investment banks, and wealth management companies globally.

TCS BaNCS™ for Insurance is a comprehensive offering suite, supporting a range of insurance products and functions, including customer management, product definition, plan management, policy administration, claims management, insurance accounting and reinsurance, along with a digital suite that can be tailored based on persona, among several options

IIT Bombay’s BETIC Gets ₹70 Cr Boost from ICICI Foundation to Advance Biomedical R&D

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and ICICI Foundation for Inclusive Growth (ICICI Foundation), the CSR arm of ICICI Bank, have forged a partnership to expand the biomedical innovation hub at the country’s premier technology and engineering institute. Under this partnership, ICICI Foundation has pledged ₹70 crore to set up additional floors at the Biomedical Engineering and Technology Innovation Centre (BETIC) at IIT Bombay and equip this area with advanced facilities.

The MoU was signed by Prof. Shireesh Kedare, Director, IIT Bombay and Mr. Sanjay Datta, President, ICICI Foundation in presence of Mr. Pradeep Kumar Sinha, Chairman, ICICI Bank.

The new floors, named ‘IIT-ICICI BETIC Hub’, will significantly expand IIT Bombay’s capabilities in biomedical engineering, increasing its space five-fold to 19,700 sq. ft. The hub will foster collaboration among researchers, clinicians, and industry leaders to develop affordable, cutting-edge medical devices and diagnostic solutions. It will be equipped with state-of-the-art resources for product development, medical grade manufacturing, safety testing, inspection, and packaging. This enhanced ecosystem will support med-tech startups and companies, train professionals in healthcare innovation, and generate high-value jobs, ultimately benefiting millions of patients.

Speaking on the collaboration, Prof. Shireesh Kedare, Director, IIT Bombay, said, "This partnership exemplifies how industry-academia alliances can drive innovation towards real-world impact. With ICICI Foundation’s generous support, IIT Bombay is poised to revolutionise biomedical research and technology, addressing critical healthcare gaps in India, fostering home-grown solutions that are accessible, affordable, and scalable.”

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Pradeep Kumar Sinha, Chairman, ICICI Bank, said, “Healthcare is a key focus at ICICI Foundation’s CSR initiatives. India’s unique healthcare challenges -- high disease burden, vast rural populations, and affordability constraints—demand indigenous innovations in biomedical, tailored to its needs. Homegrown advancement will not only reduce dependency on imports but also foster cost-effective, cutting-edge medical solutions that can empower healthcare professionals and benefit millions across the country. The partnership between ICICI Foundation and IIT Bombay aims to meet this objective. The ‘IITB-ICICI BETIC Hub’ will facilitate the development of indigenous medical innovations ensuring affordable healthcare solutions to patients. We are delighted to collaborate with IIT Bombay to drive a meaningful change in the healthcare ecosystem.”

So far, ICICI Foundation has positively impacted over 2.5 million lives to receive treatment in 550 hospitals across the country through its initiatives in the healthcare sector. This includes building capacity in curative care, including cancer care, cardiac care, eye care, trauma and emergency care.

About BETIC:

BETIC is the only lab in an academic setting in India with ISO 13485 certification—an internationally recognised quality management system standard for medical devices. It has identified 450 unmet needs after detailed discussions with hundreds of doctors across various specialisations, created 240 novel prototypes, and has filed 70 patents. It has developed 43 medical devices, out of which 23 have been taken to market by startups formed at BETIC; while the remaining 20 devices have been licensed to Indian companies. A recipient of 61 prestigious awards, BETIC has impacted several million lives till date. For more details on BETIC’s work, visit Medical Device Innovation –BETIC, Mumbai

ICICI Lombard Partners with Singapore-based actyv.ai to Introduce Revolutionary Insurance Solutions for SMEs

The partnership aims to enhance supply chain risk protection for enterprises and their partners

ICICI Lombard, India's leading private general insurance company, has announced a strategic partnership with actyv.ai, a Singapore-based enterprise SaaS platform with embedded B2B, BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) and insurance. This collaboration aims to co-create innovative insurance products specifically tailored for enterprises and their supply chain partners, empowering sustainable growth and mitigating business risks in the evolving market landscape.

Under this partnership, ICICI Lombard will collaborate with actyv.ai to design comprehensive insurance offerings for the entire supply chain ecosystem, encompassing distributors, retailers, and suppliers. By providing group insurance options to supply chain partners, enterprises can foster continuous growth, while simultaneously ensuring the wellbeing and security of all stakeholders. Leveraging actyv.ai's technological capabilities, ICICI Lombard will embed bite-sized insurance products within the actyv.ai platform, enabling seamless access to enterprises and small businesses alike.

Sanjeev Mantri, Executive Director at ICICI Lombard, highlighted the significance of the partnership: “We recognize that MSMEs are the driving force behind the economy, and we are committed to safeguard their interests through accessible and comprehensive insurance policies. Through our collaboration with actyv.ai and their advanced technology platform, we aim to offer customized insurance products to the supply chain ecosystem that is an integral component of the MSME business, thereby shielding them from potential business disruptions We have been pioneers in the MSME insurance space from offering seamless digital solutions to settling claims of Rs. 5 lacs within just 10 days, and are happy to offer yet another feature that is customised to their unique needs.”

“Through our partnership with ICICI Lombard, we will now be able to offer innovative insurance products, embedded on our technology platform, to all enterprises and their distributors, retailers, and suppliers. We are excited about our partnership, and together, we are eager to leverage technology to enable relevant risk-protection to the MSME segment. Our combined offerings will ensure sustainable growth for all players in the supply chain ecosystem, allowing for an environment of surety and support”, said Raghu Subramanian, Founder and Global CEO of actyv.ai.

This partnership signifies a crucial step in fortifying the long-term success and sustainability of MSMEs in India by offering robust and accessible insurance solutions. ICICI Lombard and actyv.ai are committed to empowering businesses with the necessary risk protection, fostering growth, and contributing to the overall economic development of the country.

ICICI Lombard is the first in India to establish a digital platform specifically designed for MSMEs to acquire risk coverage (sme.icicilombard.com). This platform is a testament to our dedication in partnering with MSMEs through their journey towards growth and effective risk management.

About ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited

ICICI Lombard is the leading private general insurance company in the country. The Company offers a comprehensive and well-diversified range of products through multiple distribution channels, including motor, health, crop, fire, personal accident, marine, engineering, and liability insurance. With a legacy of over 21 years, ICICI Lombard is committed to customer centricity with its brand philosophy of ‘Nibhaaye Vaade’. The company has issued over 32.7 million policies, settled 3.6 million claims and has a Gross Written Premium (GWP) of ₹217.72 billion for the year ended March 31, 2023. ICICI Lombard has 305 branches and 12,865 employees, as on March 31, 2023.

ICICI Lombard has been a pioneer in the industry and is the first large scale insurance company in India to migrate its entire core systems to cloud. With a strong focus on being digital led and agile, it has launched a plethora of tech-driven innovations, including the industry first Face Scan on its signature insurance and wellness App - IL TakeCare, with over 4.6 million downloads. The company has won several laurels including ET Corporate Excellence Awards, Golden Peacock Awards, FICCI Insurance Awards, National CSR awards etc. for its various initiatives. For more details log on to www.icicilombard.com

About actyv.ai:

actyv.ai is an AI-powered enterprise SaaS platform with embedded B2B Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) and insurance, transforming the global B2B supply chain by making business transactions faster and easier. Through its partnerships with financial institutions, actyv.ai enables enterprises, suppliers, distributors and retailers to grow. actyvGo, actyvScore, actyvPayLater, actyvInsure and actyvInvest are the various product categories on the platform. For more information, please visit: https://www.actyv.ai, 

ICICI Bank Introduces EMI Facility for UPI Payments by Scanning QR Code

Representative Image

• Customers can avail of the facility using PayLater, the Bank’s ‘buy now, pay later’ service
• First bank to offer such a facility
• Lakhs of customers of the Bank can opt for flexible EMIs of 3, 6 or 9 months

ICICI Bank has announced that it has introduced easy EMI facility for UPI payments made by scanning QR code. Customers eligible for PayLater, the Bank’s ‘buy now, pay later’ service can avail of the EMI facility in an instant, easy and seamless manner. This first-of-its-kind facility enhances affordability of lakhs of the Bank’s customers as they can now instantly buy products or services just by scanning the required merchant QR code at a store and making payments in EMIs.

The facility can be availed across a host of categories such as electronics, groceries, fashion apparels, travel and hotel bookings. Customers can pay transaction amount above ₹10,000 in easy instalments in three, six or nine months. The EMI facility for PayLater will shortly be extended for online shopping as well.

Talking about the new facility, Mr. Bijith Bhaskar, Head- Digital Channels & Partnership, ICICI Bank, said “We, at ICICI Bank, always aim at launching products and services to improve convenience of our customers and to provide unique solutions to address their evolving credit needs. We have seen that maximum payments these days are made through UPI. In addition, we have observed that customers are increasingly opting for UPI transactions from PayLater, the Bank’s ‘buy now, pay later’ service.

Combining these two trends, we are introducing the facility of instant EMI for UPI payments done through PayLater. With this facility, lakhs of our customers making UPI payments by scanning a merchant QR code can shop for mid to high value items and pay in easy EMIs. We believe, this facility provides immense convenience and improves affordability of our customers, as they can purchase high-value products on EMIs in a secure, instant and digital manner.”

ICICI Bank was the first bank to introduce PayLater facility in 2018 to enable customers to buy small ticket items immediately in a completely digital and paperless manner. PayLater facility enables customers to shop online, pay bills and pay to any merchant UPI ID at physical stores instantly.

Below are easy steps to avail the EMI facility on PayLater:

1. Visit any physical store and choose your preferred product or service
2. To make the payment, use iMobile Pay app and choose ‘Scan any QR’ option
3. Select PayLater EMI option if transaction amount is ₹10,000 or more
4. Select tenure among 3, 6 or 9 months
5. Just confirm the payment and the transaction is completed successfully

To know more about the PayLater facility, please visit https://www.icicibank.com/Personal-Banking/paylater.page.page?

For news and updates, visit www.icicibank.com and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ICICIBank

For media queries, write to: corporate.communications@icicibank.com

About ICICI Bank: ICICI Bank Ltd (BSE: ICICIBANK, NSE: ICICIBANK and NYSE:IBN) is a leading private sector bank in India. The Bank’s consolidated total assets stood at ₹ 15,21,748 crore at December 31, 2022.

Certain statements in this release relating to a future period of time (including inter alia concerning our future business plans or growth prospect s) are forward - looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under applicable securities laws including the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward - looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward - looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to statutory and regulatory changes, international economic and business conditions; political or economic instability in the jurisdictions where we have operations, increase in non - performing loans, unanticipated changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates, equity prices or other rates or prices, our growth and expansion in business, the adequacy of our allowance for credit losses, the actual growth in demand for banking products and services, investment income, cash flow projections, our exposure to market risks, changes in India’s sovereign rating, as well as other risks detailed in the reports fi led by us with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this release. ICICI Bank undertakes no obligation to update forward - looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date thereof. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.go

In An Industry's First, ICICI Lombard Risk Management Gets Patent for An IoT System

ICICI Lombard risk management receives a patent for IoT-enabled System to avert fire-hazards

In an industry-first move, ICICI Lombard to offer this product to SME and Corporate institutions

In recent years, the evolution and development of IoT (Internet of Things) devices have provided exciting capabilities and services to the end user. IoT devices have also been introduced in different areas to prevent unexpected mishaps caused by human error or malfunctioning of devices. One such mishap that can happen due to malfunctioning of devices is a fire disaster. ICICI Lombard, India’s leading private non-life insurance company, has identified this area to innovate an IoT-based device that protects properties from various electrical hazards. The company has been awarded a patent to offer this product to its customers.

This is an industry-first initiative undertaken by ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, and this patented electrical IoT solution is a B2B device geared towards SMEs and corporates. The solution monitors electrical hazards to notify and control if necessary on real time basis. Using this patent, the company aims to strengthen its resources to provide technologically robust and quality customer solutions.

Speaking about the recently approved patent, Sanjay Datta, Chief of Underwriting, Claims and Reinsurance, ICICI Lombard, said, “We have been able to see a high rise in the number of fire incidents in commercial as well as residential buildings, which only goes to show that a lot of infrastructure across our nation, especially in densely populated metros, are vulnerable to fire. However, there is an essential need for advanced technology to plan, manage, monitor, and control electricity delivery to enable a safe and reliable system. Technology has always been a major driving force for us at ICICI Lombard to provide cutting-edge risk solutions to millions of customers."

"With this patent approval of an IoT-based - system, we aim to provide not just insurance covers to our customers but also ensure their safety and prevent hazards. This device will serve as a new-risk solution for customers and having introduced several innovative, tech-enabled insurance solutions in the past years gives ICICI Lombard an edge over his peers.”

Majority of fires in India are caused due to electrical installations. Maximum number of disasters in industries are due to electrical problems such as voltage fluctuations, overheating, and ageing of the material and electrical gadgets. Further, causing huge losses and burdens on small industries. Therefore, the launch of such a solution is more relevant.

At ICICI Lombard we work with customers to develop best in class risk management and mitigation practices. Understanding of risk is fundamental to our business. Today, we have made it a key component of risk management and identified ways to view the risk landscape qualitatively and quantitatively. Our risk management cell has been instrumental in enhancing the overall safety culture for several clients. Risk solutions such as Safety Studies, Risk assessments, Sector wise Solutions, etc. have been developed to create awareness among customers. On the technological front, we have started introducing IoT solutions for key components. We have specifically focused on the problems plaguing the MSME and SME segment and their lack of access to quality risk management services. Accordingly, we have reinvented our offerings to include hard data on the electrical, fire and process safety. It is interesting to see how safety and efficiency go together especially with respect to electrical safety. We are starting to see increased awareness as customers and elevate their risk preparedness.

In the past, ICICI Lombard has developed various technological advancements that have ensured a seamless customer experience. The Company is leveraging natural language processing and robotic process automation technology to automate the quote generation process and policy booking for corporate and SME customers. Under SME segment which is close to 90% of the business sourcing is done through digital solutions. Approximetly 97% of ICICI Lombard’s policies today are issued electronically. With the use of AI-based motor break-in solutions for lapsed policy renewal, drones for motor video surveillance, and agent hiring and on boarding moving digital, the use of AI as well as ML in underwriting and risk management has significantly increased for the Company making it the most tech-enabled companies in the sector.

About ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd

ICICI Lombard is one of the leading general insurance companies and the leading motor insurer in the country. The Company offers a comprehensive and well-diversified range of products through multiple distribution channels, including motor, health, crop, fire, personal accident, marine, engineering, and liability insurance. With a legacy of over 20 years, ICICI Lombard is committed to customer centricity with its brand philosophy of ‘Nibhaaye Vaade'. The Company has issued over 29.3 million policies, settled 2.3 million claims and has a Gross Written Premium (GWP) of ₹185.62 billion for the year ended March 31, 2022. ICICI Lombard has 283 branches and 11,085 employees as on March 31, 2022.

ICICI Lombard has been a pioneer in the industry and migrated its entire core systems 100% to the cloud. With a strong focus on being digital led and agile, it has launched a plethora of tech-driven innovations, including Face Scan and Cal Scan on its signature insurance and wellness App - IL TakeCare, with over 3.0 million downloads. The Company has won several laurels including the 'Emerging Company of the Year at ET Corporate Excellence Awards, 'Best General Insurance Company at Annual Best & Emerging Insurance Company Awards, 'ACEF Asian Leadership' for 'Combatting COVID 19' initiatives, Guinness World Record for its CSR initiatives and many more. The awards are a testament to the trust reposed in the Company by its customers, partners, and other stakeholders. For more details log on to www.icicilombard.com

ICICI Bank Launches Four Digital Banking Units

ICICI Bank today announced the launch of four Digital Banking Units (DBUs) to offer banking services to its customers digitally. The launch is part of the government’s plan to set up 75 DBUs in as many districts to commemorate 75 years of India's independence. Shri Narendra Modi, Honourable Prime Minister of India inaugurated the 75 DBUs virtually today in the presence of Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Honourable Finance Minister and Shri Shaktikanta Das, RBI Governor. ICICI Bank has set up the DBUs at Dehradun in Uttarakhand, Karur in Tamil Nadu, Kohima in Nagaland and Puducherry.

A DBU comprises two distinct areas— a Self-service Zone and a Digital Assistance Zone. The Self-service Zone houses an ATM, a Cash Deposit Machine (CDM) and a Multi-Functional Kiosk (MFK) that offers a number of services including printing of passbook, depositing cheque and accessing internet banking. Further, it has a Digi Branch Kiosk that offers all services available on iMobile Pay, the Bank’s mobile banking app. The Zone also provides a digital interactive screen where customers can interact with a chatbot in order to find product offers and mandatory notices. The Self-service Zone is operational 24x7.

At the Digital Assistance Zone, branch officials assist customers to undertake various financial and non-financial transactions. These include opening of saving account, current account, fixed deposit and recurring deposit; availing of home loan, auto loan, personal loan and applying for credit card. These services are offered in a completely digital manner through a tablet device, using Aadhaar based eKYC. In addition, branch officials will help customers download and start using the mobile banking app as well as internet banking.

The Digital Assistance Zone remains open from 9:30 am to 3.00 pm on Monday to Friday as well as, on the first, third and fifth Saturdays of the month.

Speaking on the new initiative, Mr. Rakesh Jha, Executive Director (Designate), ICICI Bank said, “We are delighted to be part of the initiative of setting up DBUs across the nation, under the aegis of RBI. They operate like digital branches where customers can undertake banking transactions digitally, at a time of their convenience. They can also seek guidance from experts on banking services at these units.

In the last few years, we have seen that the customer’s behaviour at branches has evolved. Customers are now more keen to seek advice and guidance at branches for complex transactions, loans and investments while they prefer doing simple transactions on their own through digital channels like internet and mobile banking. We have designed the DBUs to meet these evolving requirements of our customers.”

In addition to offering banking services, the DBUs will conduct Digital Literacy Programmes regularly to spread awareness around safe banking, digital banking and cyber security.

ICICIdirect Acquires Multipie, an Investor Community Based Networking Platform

Multipie offers strong content, community and engagement proposition

A great platform to activate and engage with market enthusiasts

Second startup investment by the company, post its investment in Asknbid in Oct 2021

ICICIdirect, one of India’s leading equity houses, today said that it has acquired the startup Multipie, a web and app based networking platform for the investor community which enables them to discuss, exchange ideas and share views on stocks and other investment assets. The transaction involves acquisition of Multipie App, technology, brand, domain name, user base and other related matters.

Multipie App was launched in October 2021 and has been growing at 40%+ month-on-month and enjoys a rating of 4.9 on Playstore and 4.7 on App Store. Within a short period, the Multipie community has grown to be highly engaging on the back of high quality content (newsletters, infographics, blogs etc.) and moderated discussion boards where users gain market insight. The platform is intuitive and socially integrated, enabling users to export content to their social media handles. Users can link their portfolio with the platform, allowing monitoring as well as participating in focused discussions.

Multipie has features like stock discovery ideas, import stock portfolio, content creation with stock tags, user tags with Twitter integration and others. Being social, the platform enables members follow each other and also share their portfolio only with people they chose to. There are a number of other great features in the pipeline, which shall be released over time.

This is the second such investment by ICICIdirect, post its investment in Asknbid, a start-up in the financial gaming space in October 2021, when it picked up a significant minority stake. Founded by two IIT engineers, Asknbid is focused on building algorithmic investing-based technology products. It has created ‘Dstreet Games’, a learning platform that uses engaging experience along with content and community learning to create a practical learning approach. The platform is focused on College Students, Young Professionals (Millennials, Gen Z) + Tier 2/3 Audience.

About ICICI Securities

ICICI Securities Limited (I-Sec) is a subsidiary of ICICI Bank Ltd. The company began its operation in May 1995 and continues to grow its operation through expanding its client base and providing different type of services.

I-Sec operates www.icicidirect.com, India’s leading virtual financial supermarket, meeting the three need sets of its clients- investments, protection, and borrowing. Through its four lines of businesses -- broking, distribution of financial products, wealth management and investment banking-- I-Sec serves customers ranging from the retail and institutional investors to corporates to high net-worth individuals to government.

I-Sec is listed on National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). For details, visit: www.icicisecurities.com

ICICI Bank Introduces a Slew of New Digital Facilities on Its ‘Money2World’ Platform

• First bank to offer instant video KYC to on-board users on a money remitting platform
• Customers of other banks can remit up to USD 250,000 a year
• Integrates the remittance platform with its mobile banking app enabling customers to remit fund anytime, on the go

ICICI Bank today announced the launch of an array of new facilities on its online outward remittances platform, ‘Money2World’ (M2W), to provide improved convenience to users including those who do not have accounts with the Bank.

One of the new services empower customers of other banks to complete the KYC (Know Your Customer) process via video conferencing to register themselves on M2W, an industry-first initiative. Another new facility enables customers, having account with any other bank, to remit upto USD 250,000 in a financial year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), 10 times of their previous limit. Further, ICICI Bank has integrated its mobile banking app ‘iMobile Pay’ with the M2W platform. This integration enables its customers to send money overseas, choose and set their desired exchange rate, and enter a one-time instruction to schedule recurring payments through ‘iMobile Pay’.

Users of ‘Money2World’ can remit funds to 21 currencies for a host of purposes including education, maintenance of close relatives, gift and travel.

Mr. Sriram H. Iyer, Head - International Banking Group, ICICI Bank said, “We, at ICICI Bank, believe in leveraging the latest technology to bring in new and improved digital banking solutions to users of our products and services. As part of this philosophy, we are offering convenient and digital facilities on the ‘Money2World’ platform to our customers as well as customers of other banks. In an industry-first initiative, customers of any other bank in India can register on ‘Money2World’ through a secure, AI driven, video KYC facility and start sending money abroad. They can also remit up to USD 250,000 under LRS in a financial year. 

Further, the integration of ‘Money2World’ with ‘iMobile Pay’ app offers an enhanced convenience to our customers as it allows them to conduct transactions on the go, from their mobile phone. We believe that all the latest offerings will help customers to remit funds overseas 24x7 with confirmed exchange rates, in a completely contactless, digital and safe manner, even if they do not have an account with ICICI Bank.”

Below are some of the key benefits of ‘Money2World’ platform:

• Video KYC facility: An official of the Bank helps an individual, who is eager to join the M2W platform but does not hold an account with ICICI Bank, to complete the KYC process through a video call. It brings forth the convenience of significant time-saving as it takes only a few minutes against the paper intensive, physical KYC verification process at a branch.
• Enhanced LRS limit: Customers of any other bank can now remit up to USD 250,000 under LRS through M2W platform and fulfill their need to send large amount overseas.
• Transact through ‘iMobile Pay’: The Bank’s customers can remit money via ‘iMobile Pay’. They can just log into the app, choose the ‘Send Money’ option and finally send money abroad by selecting ‘Transfer Overseas’.
• Rate alert: The Bank is first in the industry to provide customers with personalised forex rate alerts through SMS/e-mail so that they can automatically initiate transactions at their desired exchange rates.
• Standing instructions: This feature enables customers to enter a one-time instruction to schedule recurring payments. The payment will be executed automatically on the scheduled due date, as specified by customers.

To know more about the video KYC for non-ICICI Bank account holders, please visit - https://www.icicibank.com/campaigns/VKYC-M2W/lp/index.html

To know more about the ‘Money2World’ facility, please visit - https://www.icicibank.com/internet-banking/fund-transer/outward-remittance/money2world.page

For news and updates, visit www.icicibank.com and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ICICIBank

For media queries, write to corporate.communications@icicibank.com

ICICI Bank Ltd (BSE: ICICIBANK, NSE: ICICIBANK and NYSE:IBN) is a leading private sector bank in India. The Bank’s total assets stood at ₹ 14,11,298 crore at March 31, 2022.


Certain statements in this release relating to a future period of time (including inter alia concerning our future business plans or growth prospect s) are forward - looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under applicable securities laws including the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward - looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward - looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to statutory and regulatory changes, international economic and business conditions; political or economic instability in the jurisdictions where we have operations, increase in non - performing loans, unanticipated changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates, equity prices or other rates or prices, our growth and expansion in business, the adequacy of our allowance for credit losses, the actual growth in demand for banking products and services, investment income, cash flow projections, our exposure to market risks, changes in India’s sovereign rating, as well as other risks detailed in the reports fi led by us with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of the date of this release. ICICI Bank undertakes no obligation to update forward - looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date thereof. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov

ICICI Bank On-Boards 70 Leading Corporates on ‘Corpconnect’, a Digital Platform for Banking and Supply Chain Finance

• First-of-its-kind digital banking platform
• Offers data analytics driven instant financing to channel partners ∙ Companies can undertake instant payments / collections with channel partners

ICICI Bank today announced that it has on-boarded 70 leading companies on ‘CorpConnect’, the digital platform that it launched last year to enable corporates to undertake instant payments and collections to/from their channel partners. ‘CorpConnect’, a first-of-its kind initiative, also offers instant and collateral free digital channel financing solutions such as dealer finance for distributors and vendor finance/ reverse factoring for suppliers.

The list of these companies include ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India Ltd., Asian Paints Ltd., Blue Star Ltd., Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd., Exide Industries Ltd., Hero Cycles Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd., Nayara Energy Ltd., Orient Electric Ltd., Somany Ceramics Ltd., V-Guard Industries Ltd. and Voltas Ltd. (in alphabetical order) among others. These companies-- many of them are members of the ‘S&P BSE 200 Index’-- represent various industries namely FMCG, consumer durables, auto ancillaries, steel, oil, cement, textiles, paints, tiles/ sanitary wares, pipes, chemicals, engineering goods and agriculture commodities.

Through ‘CorpConnet’, companies can directly integrate with the Bank’s systems and embed the banking solutions such as channel financing, vendor bill/ invoice discounting, payable finance and factoring within their ERP systems. This can be done either with API integration with the Bank or with host-to-host SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) solution. The use of these cutting-edge technologies reduces integration time significantly, thereby enhancing operational and financial efficiencies of the companies significantly.

Speaking on the announcement, Mr. Anuj Bhargava, Head- Global Clients Group, ICICI Bank said, “ICICI Bank believes in leveraging the latest technology to bring in new and improved digital banking solutions to its customers. In line with the philosophy, we launched ‘CorpConnect’ last year to help companies and their channel partners with the facility of seamless collection/payment, reconciliation and financing on a day-to-day basis. We are pleased to share that we have on-boarded 70 leading corporates on ‘CorpConnect’.

‘CorpConnect’ undertakes average monthly transactions worth few thousand crores of rupees. We believe that ‘CorpConnect’ has immense potential to simplify the document-intensive supply chain management by bringing all stakeholders on a single platform and providing them with instant, digital and seamless solutions.”

The benefits offered by ‘CorpConnect’ for companies:

• Digital ecosystem: Corporates can interact and transact digitally with their channel partners- suppliers and dealers—on a single platform
• Digital process: End-to-end digital and paperless processes for banking and operations helps corporates with speed and higher productivity
• Instant payments & collections: Corporates can undertake instant payments and collections to/from their channel partners. The integration with ERP ensures automation of transaction updates in ERP on real-time basis and automated reconciliation
• Instant finance: Corporates can avail the facility of factoring, payable finance and early pay on the platform
• Financial efficiencies: Reduced working capital and operational cost brings in significant operational and financial efficiencies
• MIS dashboard: Customised MIS reports updated in ERP on real-time basis improves forecasting of corporates by combining operations and financial data

The benefits for suppliers and dealers:

• Instant finance: Availability of instant and collateral free digital channel financing solutions like dealer finance for distributors and vendor finance/ reverse factoring for suppliers at competitive rates. Digital and quick processing in a hassle-free way; no requirement of lengthy and tedious paperwork
• Wide reach: The online finance facility is across the nation
• Real time information: Availability of invoice-wise details to channel partners on a real time basis with adjustment of debit/ credit notes and cash discount, if applicable ∙ Multiple payment options: There are multiple payment options namely current account, channel finance OD account, Pay2Corp – virtual account set up, payment gateway and others
• Customised MIS: Real-time access to customised MIS reports

To know more about ‘CorpConnect’ digital solution, please visit, https://www.icicibank.com/sme/digital-finance-supply-chain page ; corporates can contact their ICICI Bank account manager or write to us at < dfsc@icicibank.com> for any further information.

For news and updates, visit www.icicibank.com and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ICICIBank

For media queries, write to: corporate.communications@icicibank.com

ICICI Bank Ltd (BSE: ICICIBANK, NSE: ICICIBANK and NYSE:IBN) is a leading private sector bank in India. The Bank’s consolidated total assets stood at ₹ 16,04,053 crore at September 30, 2021. ICICI Bank's subsidiaries include India's leading private sector

insurance, asset management and securities brokerage companies, and among the country’s largest private equity firms. It is present across 15 countries, including India.

ICICI Bank to Offer Instant Overdraft (OD) to Sellers Registered on Amazon.in

• Enables sellers on amazon.in to avail OD of upto Rs 25 lakh instantly and digitally
• First bank to automate scorecard-based mechanism that allows instant approval to sellers
• Customers of ICICI Bank can use the OD immediately

ICICI Bank today announced that it has partnered with Amazon India to offer overdraft (OD) facility upto Rs 25 lakh to individual sellers and small businesses registered on the e-commerce company’s online marketplace, www.amazon.in, instantaneously and digitally. Driven by API integration, the partnership enables sellers to avail an OD from the Bank in a process--from application to sanction to disbursement-- that is entirely digital. Even customers of other banks can avail the OD facility from ICICI Bank, if they are registered as sellers with amazon.in.

Leveraging advanced data analytics, ICICI Bank has developed this new facility that functions on the back of an industry-first scorecard to instantly evaluate credit worthiness of sellers based on their financial profile including Credit Bureau scores.

The new credit assessment method offers significant convenience to the sellers as it does away with the paper-intensive bank statements or income tax returns for assessing credit worthiness. Further, it empowers small businesses and individual sellers who are ‘new-to-credit’ and ‘existing MSME borrowers’ to unlock the value of their digital transactions and get access to instant credit.

Sellers having current account with ICICI Bank can immediately start using the OD to meet their working capital requirements. Customers of other banks can avail the OD by simply opening a current account with the Bank digitally.

Speaking on the initiative, Pankaj Gadgil, Head- Self Employed Segment, SME & Merchant Ecosystem, ICICI Bank said, “ICICI Bank has always believed that access to timely credit and ease of doing business are key parameters for the growth of the MSME businesses. In line with this, we are pleased to launch the OD facility for sellers registered on amazon.in instantly and digitally. The partnership stands to enable sellers to avail instant overdraft up to Rs. 25 lakh in a completely digital manner. They can start using the OD amount immediately to meet their working capital requirements. We have specially curated a new way of assessing credit worthiness of the sellers on the basis of their Credit Bureau score as well as their transaction history on amazon.in. This new and improved process will help the sellers, who may otherwise not get access to adequate credit when assessed in the traditional way of using only balance sheets, bank statements and tax returns. We believe that this new proposition resonates our effort in developing path breaking innovations for MSME customers and will empower them with new avenues of business expansion."

Vikas Bansal, Director – Amazon Pay India said, “We are prioritizing our efforts to help sellers on amazon.in bounce back from the disruption owing to COVID-19. Our mission is to enable easy and trusted access to credit for sellers with transparent policies and at low costs. Our partnership with ICICI Bank will provide sellers across India with an OD facility instantly and digitally at affordable rates to meet all their current and future requirements.”

Here are the benefits of ‘InstaOD’ for amazon.in sellers:

• Online loan application: Sellers registered on amazon.in can apply for the OD instantly online through amazon.in in a completely digital and paperless manner
• Easy process: The Bank evaluates sellers instantly on the basis of their Credit Bureau score and their transaction history on amazon.in, making the loan approval process easy and quick. This is a marked improvement over the typical process which demands sellers to go through the tedious paper-intensive process of submitting income tax returns, bank statements and GST returns
• Instant sanction and disbursal: The approved OD amount is instantly sanctioned and disbursed into the seller’s current account
• Pay for what you use: Sellers only need to pay interest on the amount of OD utilised by them
• Auto-renewal facility: The OD is renewable on an annual basis, depending on the repayment track records of the seller

Below are quick steps for the sellers to avail the ‘InstaOD’:

• View offer: Eligible sellers can find the ICICI Bank offer on their account of Amazon Seller Central, online portal for sellers registered on amazon.in
• Click on banner: The seller is redirected to ICICI Bank’s ‘InstaOD’ platform upon clicking on the banner on Seller Central
• Fill details: The seller needs to login and fill in the digital application form
• Confirm to sanction amount: Upon confirmation of the amount from the seller, the OD is instantly sanctioned. If the seller already has a current account with ICICI Bank, then the seller can immediately start using the OD
• Account opening for new-to-bank seller: Sellers new to ICICI Bank, will be redirected for instant opening of current account and KYC validation.

Sellers registered on amazon.in can avail the ‘InstaOD’ facility through Amazon Seller Central or by clicking on the following link: https://sellercentral.amazon.in/lending/ph/offers

Organisations and Partners can get in touch with the Bank for API integrations through https://www.icicibank.com/business-banking/finance/insta-overdraft.page

ICICI Bank Germany Launches Digitally-Blocked Account for Indian Students

• Students can instantly open the account digitally
• ICICI Bank Germany is the first bank to offer completely digital Blocked Account* along with a complimentary Current Account
• The account comes with a VISA debit card as well

Mumbai: ICICI Bank Germany, a part of ICICI Bank, today announced the launch of a digital and instant Blocked Account* for students aspiring to study in Germany. A Blocked Account* is a special type of account wherein students are required to keep a certain amount of money in order to get a Balance Confirmation Certificate (BCC), a mandatory requirement for a student Visa in Germany. Only banks, which are authorized by German Federal Foreign Office, can offer the Blocked Account*.

The new ‘ICICI Bank Germany Student Blocked Account’ enables students to deposit the required amount with the Bank and get the BCC. Students can open this account online from the comfort of their homes in India before their Visa applications, without visiting an ICICI Bank branch. This account offers students a complimentary Current Account, that they can use in Germany. It also comes with a VISA debit card which can be used anywhere in the world. The debit card will be delivered to the students at their address in India before they leave for Germany.

ICICI Bank Germany is the first bank to offer the dual advantage of a completely digital ‘Blocked Account’ and a complimentary Current Account to students. It is a marked improvement from the existing industry practice where students typically open these accounts with two different banking entities and can open the Current Account only after reaching Germany. The Current Account is equivalent to a savings account in India, and can be used by students for their daily banking requirements in Germany.

Speaking about the launch, Mr. Sriram H. Iyer, Head- International Banking Group, ICICI Bank, said, “At ICICI Bank, we recognize the unique banking requirements of students, and we always endeavor to provide them. ICICI Bank Germany has been servicing the Indian diaspora for more than a decade. ‘ICICI Bank Germany Student Blocked Account’ is the first account that offers the dual advantage of a ‘Blocked Account’ along with a complimentary Current Account to the Indian students. It also offers a VISA debit card which can be used worldwide.

Germany is a popular destination for Indian students looking to pursue higher studies. ‘ICICI Bank Germany Student Blocked Account’ helps them apply for a ‘Blocked Account’ and get the BCC, a prerequisite for applying for a German Visa. The Current Account and the VISA debit card help them to take care of their day-to-day banking requirements in Germany. Students and their parents in India have a strong connect with ICICI Bank. We look forward to serving the needs of the students while they study in Germany, and their parents in India for facilitating their overseas banking needs in a convenient, safe and secure manner."

Key benefits of the blocked account:

• Fully digital process: Students can open the ‘Blocked Account’ in a complete digital and seamless manner; and get the account number instantly
• Debit card: Students receive the VISA debit card before they leave for Germany
• Complimentary local current account: Students get an additional Current Account as a local bank account for their daily banking requirements in Germany
• Available 24X7: The facility of digitally opening a ‘Blocked Account’ is available 24X7

Aspirants can apply for the ‘ICICI Bank Germany Student Blocked Account’ in four easy steps:

1. Registration with ICICI Bank Germany: Students can register themselves on ICICI Bank Germany through the website https://www.icicibank.de/. Once that is done, an email with an authentication link will be shared with them. This activates the application portal and a secured mailbox for receiving further instructions, updates and BCC.
2. Submission of online application: Students can fill in the details in the online application form, upload their Passport copy, address proof and the college admission/acceptance letter and get a ‘Blocked Account’ number instantly.
3. Funding the account: Students can transfer funds to their ‘Blocked Account’ with the pre-requisite amount immediately using any bank account in India and within one day of receipt of funds, they get the BCC in their secured mailbox and the VISA debit card dispatched to their address in India.
4. Activation of the local bank account/ current account: Students can complete a quick online video identification process and update the local address after reaching Germany. This will activate their local bank account and VISA debit card for their local banking requirements in Germany.

To know more about ‘ICICI Bank Germany Student Blocked Account’ application process, please visit https://www.icicibank.de/germany/hello-europe/blocked-account.html and watch a quick video: https://youtu.be/1M3Vd1zthYo

For any support before or during application, students can reach at blockedaccount@icicibank.com or call the customer care number at +91 40 7140 3336.

About ICICI Bank UK PLC: ICICI Bank UK PLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of ICICI Bank Limited, is a full-fledged bank with an asset base of approximately USD 2.85 billion as at June 30, 2021. It offers a comprehensive suite of financial solutions to cater to personal, commercial, corporate, investment, treasury and trade requirements.

About ICICI Bank: ICICI Bank Ltd (BSE: ICICIBANK, NSE: ICICIBANK and NYSE:IBN) is a leading private sector bank in India. The Bank’s consolidated total assets stood at ₹15,72,772 crore at June 30, 2021. ICICI Bank's subsidiaries include India's leading private sector insurance, asset management and securities brokerage companies, and among the country’s largest private equity firms. It is present across 15 countries, including India.

ICICI Bank launches ‘Salute Doctors’, a comprehensive banking solution for doctors

Offers medical equipment loan up to Rs. 10 crore

Provides banking as well as value-added services

Doctors can avail customized solutions for various life-stages

Mumbai: ICICI Bank today announced the launch of the country’s most comprehensive banking solutions for medical doctors. Called ‘Salute Doctors’, it provides customized banking as well as value-added services for every doctor, beginning from a medical student to a senior medical consultant to an owner of a hospital or a clinic. The solutions, which are mostly digital and instant, are designed to take care of the professional, business, lifestyle and wealth banking requirements of doctors and their families. The initiative is powered by ICICI STACK, a digital banking platform with nearly 500 services that helps customers of the Bank to avail the services digitally and seamlessly.

‘Salute Doctors’ provides doctors with an array of innovative services. One, a range of premium savings and current accounts for personal and business banking. Two, specially curated suite of loans for home, auto, personal, education, medical equipment, setting up clinic or hospital and business. Three, industry first value added services, which are offered in association with partners, to help doctors fulfill their lifestyle needs, manage clinic/hospital better and digitally, get updates on latest medical developments, take care of accounting needs, expand and procure medical supplies.

Mr. Pranav Mishra, Head- Liabilities, ICICI Bank said -

We, at ICICI Bank, hold doctors in high esteem for their selfless service to society. Today on National Doctor’s Day, we have launched ‘Salute Doctors’ banking solutions to express gratitude and salute our lifesavers for their service and sacrifice. This proposition is an extension of ‘ICICI STACK’ which we launched a year ago to offer all banking services digitally from one platform. We have done extensive research on doctors across various stages of their career-- right from medical students, senior doctors and owners of hospitals/ clinics- to understand their banking needs.

Based on our research insights, we have created a 360-degree proposition that brings in a host of instant and digital services, customized for doctors at different stages of their career. For example. We have specially curated education loan for doctors, loans for medical equipment for new purchases and refurbished medical equipments, loan for purchase, construction or expansion of clinic or hospital business loans for working capital requirement of clinic and hospital as well as personal loan for all their other needs. We have designed a Business Credit Card and Expressions Debit Card for their business and personal expenses respectively. Further, we are offering value added services, which are first in the industry. We believe that this specially curated holistic proposition helps doctors in our country to fulfill their personal and professional banking requirements.”

The main offerings of ‘Salute Doctors’ are:

1. Premium bank accounts for personal and business requirement:
   
   
• Salute Doctors Savings Account:
  
  This premium savings account is available in three variants- Wealth, Platinum and Gold. Some of the distinctive features of the account that provide enhanced convenience to the doctors are, an unique Expressions Debit Card with an image selected by the customer and ‘Dr.’ embossed on it; a dedicated Relationship Manager; flexibility to manage balance requirements across savings account, fixed deposit and current account; solutions for digital investment solutions, real-estate remittances and insurance requirements for personal and professional needs. The account comes with ‘Family Banking’ benefit, wherein the doctors can extend their premium banking services to the family members. Additionally, doctors are offered a set of exclusive offers for their professional needs and to spend quality time with family. Doctors can also apply for premium collection of ICICI Bank Credit Cards.
  
  
• Salute Doctors Current Account:
  
  Doctors are offered premium current account in three variants- Platinum, Gold and Silver. They can apply online through the Bank’s website or InstaBIZ app. Some of the benefits of this account include dedicated Relationship Manager, selecting account number of choice, no requirement of keeping a minimum balance in the account for the first year if the customer is transacting digitally, and convenience of ‘no cheque-bounce charges’ for third party cheques. Doctors also get the Bank’s ‘EazyPay’ facility to accept instant cashless payments through POS/QR code and ‘Connected Banking’ platform for automated payments and collections with instant bank reconciliation. They get free subscription of ZOHO Books, an accounting software to carry out their accounts. Along with all this, doctors get to experience the Bank’s state-of-the-art InstaBIZ app with 115 business banking services and Corporate Internet Banking (CIB) platform for their business banking requirement and to carry out seamless digital transactions. Doctors can also apply for a Business Credit Card which has the feature of segregating personal and business spends; and has name of the hospital or clinic embossed on it.
  
  
2. Specially curated suite of loans:
   
   
• Mortgage loans:
  
  Doctors, including who are not existing customers of the Bank, can avail loan upto Rs. 5 crore for the range of mortgage loans like home loan, home loan balance transfer, loan against property and loan for purchase, construction or expansion of clinic or hospital. They can apply digitally for the mortgage loans through the Bank’s website. Pre-approved customers of the Bank have the convenience of getting sanction letter instantly for loans upto Rs. 10 crore.
  
  
• Medical equipment loan:
  
  This is available for all doctors, no matter they are customers of the Bank or not. They can avail the medical equipment loan upto Rs. 10 crore to purchase new and refurbished medical equipment. They can SMS HCF to 567677 to avail this facility.
  
  
• Business loan: Doctors get business loan up to Rs. 40 lakh without collateral for their working capital needs or other business related expenses like refurbishing of clinic/ hospital and purchase of medical equipment. Pre-approved customers of the Bank get instant disbursal of the loan amount.
  
  
• Personal loan:
  
  The Bank offers digital personal loan up to Rs. 25 lakh with simple online documentation and quick processing. Pre-approved customers of the Bank can avail this loan digitally through iMobile Pay app or the internet banking platform and get instant disbursal. Other customers can apply at branch with a digital led process through tablets and get the disbursal within few hours.
  
  
• Education loan:
  
  The Bank offers industry first medical education loan up to Rs. 1 crore called ‘Doctor Select iSMART Education Loan’. Doctors can avail this loan for themselves or their children's studies in medical colleges in India or overseas. They can apply online through the website. Pre-approved customers of the Bank can apply through the internet banking platform and get instant sanction letter.
  
  
• Auto loan:
  
  The Bank offers auto loan up to Rs. 50 lakh for doctors. The Bank has curated a special repayment scheme called ‘Flexi EMI’, which provides customers the flexibility of selecting low EMI for first six months; thereafter the EMI is higher. Pre-approved customers of the Bank can apply online through internet banking or iMobile Pay app and get instant sanction letter. Other customers can avail the auto loan at branch or dealers in a fully digital application process through tablets.
  
  
3. Industry first value added services:
   
   
• Business assistance concierge:
  
  The Bank in partnership with a leading support-solutions provider, offers doctors an array of services to set-up their clinics. Doctors get discounted prices on services like staffing, clinic management, material procurement, travel related services, taxation, security solutions among others through a dedicated concierge helpline or via an email or an app.
  
  
• Online clinic set-up:
  
  The Bank has tied up with an expert digital concierge company to help doctors create online profile of their clinic or hospital. It offers a one-stop solution ranging from website development, online video consultation, chat based consultancy, prescription management and other digital assistance. ICICI Bank customers are offered the digital services at an exclusive discounted price by a partner through a dedicated helpdesk, email and an enquiry form.
  
  
• Additional privileges: In partnership with multiple companies, the Bank offers discount for online procurement of medical equipment from leading medical supplies e-commerce platform and provides exclusive access to various health and medical journals. Doctors who open Wealth Savings Account, get complimentary Taj Epicure membership and also get a dedicated concierge desk for all their lifestyle requirements.

Doctors can avail all the specially curated services of ‘Salute Doctors’, whether or not ICICI Bank customer. Please visit, https://www.icicibank.com/Personal-Banking/account-deposit/doctors-savings-account/index.page

ICICI Bank Links UPI ID Facility To Its 'Pockets' Digital Wallet

• First bank to introduce the unique facility
• Customers now don’t need a bank account to use UPI ID on ‘Pockets’ app
• All customers including those who are not banking with ICICI Bank can use the facility

Mumbai: ICICI Bank today announced the launch of a unique facility of linking a UPI (Unified Payments Interface) ID to its digital wallet ’Pockets’, marking a departure from the current practice that demands such IDs be linked with a savings bank account. New users, including those who are not customers of ICICI Bank, can now instantly get a UPI ID, which is automatically linked to ‘Pockets’. Further, customers who already have a UPI ID, will get a new ID when they log on to the ‘Pockets’ app. 

This initiative enables users to undertake small value everyday transactions directly from their ‘Pockets’ wallet using UPI in a safe and secure manner. It helps them to streamline the number of transactions being undertaken daily from their savings account and thus de-clutter their savings account statement of multiple entries. Further, it expands the convenient usage of UPI to young adults like college students, who may not have a savings account.

ICICI Bank is the first in the industry to enable customers to make UPI transactions from their wallet balance instead of their savings account.

The Bank has collaborated with NPCI to link its ‘Pockets’ digital wallet to the UPI network, paving way for this novel initiative of linking of a customer’s UPI ID with his/ her digital wallet. With this, customers using ‘Pockets’ can pay/ receive money directly from/to ‘Pockets’ wallet balance without using their savings bank account. Users of ‘Pockets’ digital wallet can use the UPI ID to make person to person (P2P) payments such as sending money to any individual’s bank account or paying to a contact. They can also undertake person to merchant (P2M) payments like paying online at merchant sites or paying by scanning QR codes. Additionally, users get exciting rewards on every transaction that they make using the wallet.

Mr. Bijith Bhaskar, Head- Digital Channels & Partnership, ICICI Bank said, 

We, at ICICI Bank, focus on technological innovations to offer unique propositions that are simple, fast and convenient. Five years ago, we launched ‘Pockets’, enabling users to open a digital wallet instantly on their mobile phone and start transacting immediately. Our research suggests that users are keen to link their UPI ID with their digital wallet, so that they can directly use the balance in the wallet for smaller transactions while using their savings account only for the larger ones. Armed with this insight, we are delighted to have worked closely with NPCI to introduce this unique innovative solution in digital banking. We believe, the facility will provide immense convenience and the advantage of secured UPI payments to customers using ‘Pockets’ wallet.

Ms. Praveena Rai, COO, NPCI said, 

We are delighted to collaborate with ICICI Bank to launch the solution of creating and linking a UPI ID to digital wallet. This initiative will further democratize access to UPI and make it ubiquitous with digital payments by allowing consumers to directly pay through their digital wallets, in addition to the facility of paying from their bank accounts. UPI is a one-stop solution to payments of all kinds, both P2M and P2P, and this facility will provide an impetus to the burgeoning digital ecosystem in India. We at NPCI, constantly endeavour to create an evolved user experience by integrating technology with innovation, and the launch of this offering is a step in the right direction.

To start using the facility, a new user needs to download and log-in to ‘Pockets’. On successful login, a ‘Pockets’ VPA is automatically created based on the registered mobile number of the user. For eg: 9999xxxxxx@pockets where ‘9999xxxxxx’ is the registered mobile number. There are no bank account details required for the creation of the UPI ID. Further, a user can also modify the auto-created UPI ID to an ID of his/her choice, through the ‘modify’ option under ‘BHIM UPI’ within the app.

An existing user can update their ‘Pockets’ app to the latest version and get going.

The advantages of UPI-linked ‘Pockets’ are:

• Scan and Pay: Users can scan QR codes and make payments at merchant outlets or other locations, through BHIM UPI on ‘Pockets’ app.
• Make and receive payments: Customers can use their ‘Pockets’ UPI ID to pay against a collect request sent by another user or app. They can receive money too by creating a collect request through entering a valid amount and the sender’s UPI ID.
• Pay to contacts: With this feature, users can seamlessly make payment to their contacts in the phone book.
• UPI payments at merchant sites: Users can make payments online at any merchant site by opting to make ‘payment through UPI’ and entering their ‘Pockets’ UPI ID. Once they enter their ID, a collect request is generated which can be accepted on the ‘Pockets’ app to complete the payment.
• Money transfers: Customers can seamlessly transfer funds from their ‘Pockets’ wallet to a savings account or any other ‘Pockets’ wallet, by entering the receipient’s ‘Pockets’ UPI ID or savings account details.

To know more about the Pockets UPI ID, visit: https://www.icicibank.com/Personal-Banking/bank-wallet/pockets/upi.html

ICICI Acquiring 9.65% Stake in Thillais Analytical Solutions That Operates Neo-Banking Platform 'Vanghee'

ICICI Bank Ltd. has entered into an agreement with fintech startup Thillais Analytical Solutions Pvt. Ltd. to buy 9.65% stake in the company for reportedly Rs 1.1 crore.

Thillais Analytical Solutions operates a neo-banking platform Vanghee, an open payment platform that can integrate with any ERP / Accounting applications. The first ever application to provide Post-dated digital payments similar to paper based Post-dated Cheques.

Vanghee facilitates connected banking solutions for corporates and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and helps banks deepen their customer relationships.

The deal agreed for a cash consideration of Rs 1.1 crore (Rs 11 million) is expected to be closed by the end of March 2021, ICICI Bank said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.

Post the investment, ICICI Bank will hold 9.65% shareholding, on a fully diluted basis, in Thillais Analytical Solutions through an acquisition of 10 equity shares and 100 compulsory convertible preference shares.

On Tuesday, ICICI Bank shares fell 2.30% to Rs 658.50 apiece on the BSE even as the benchmark Sensex ended the day 0.10% lower at 52,104.17 points.

PhonePe launches Domestic Trip Insurance with ICICI Lombard as India starts opening-up

 

• Comprehensive insurance policy covers expenses or losses from all kinds of travel-related incidents

• Sum insured up to ₹ 5 lakhs at just ₹ 499 annually

 

With the lockdown ending and domestic travel gradually starting across   the country, PhonePe, India’s leading digital payments platform, today announced the launch of a comprehensive, industry-first domestic multi-trip insurance cover in a strategic partnership with ICICI Lombard, India’s largest non-life insurance company. This product exclusively available for PhonePe users, provides one of the most affordable annual insurance covers for unlimited trips. This unique solution takes a leap forward from traditional travel insurance removing the need to insure every trip separately and will benefit both business and leisure travellers.

The new launch enables a stress-free travel experience for customers by covering risks associated with all modes of travel within the country (road, rail and air within the country) right from the time a customer leaves home till the time he/she returns. 

For domestic travellers who may be worried about stepping out during the COVID-19 pandemic, this unique, all-in-one insurance product offers a comprehensive bouquet of benefits that cover losses arising from trip cancellations, home burglary while travelling, missed connecting flights, lost baggage and more. The product also caters to the needs of customers who prefer buying domestic travel insurance every time they book a ticket or a cab. With 365-days protection at just INR 499, this is the most cost-effective and hassle-free cover that cuts across all modes of transport. 

For air travellers specifically, there is a unique feature of trip cancellation due to hospitalisation and up to INR 1,000 payout for trip cancellation due to government lockdown. In addition to this, it also provides cover against death or hospitalization due to an accident during the journey with a sum assured of INR 5 lakhs. PhonePe now offers customers a complete travel insurance product portfolio with both international and domestic travel insurance catering to the needs of all kinds of travellers. 

Speaking on the launch, Gunjan Ghai, VP & Head of Insurance, PhonePe said, “This product reflects PhonePe’s philosophy of finding time and context-relevant products for its customers.  We are excited to launch this unique and industry-first insurance cover for domestic travellers. The product offers cover for all modes of transport for unlimited trips in a year while also providing very relevant features in the current unlocking 1.0 scenario. We believe this solution will provide policyholders peace of mind so that they can focus on enjoying their travel without any worry. We remain deeply committed to  making insurance affordable, simple and accessible for over 200 Mn PhonePe users.”

On the launch, Sanjeev Mantri, Executive Director, ICICI Lombard General Insurance said, “We are delighted to associate with PhonePe for this ‘first of its kind’ travel insurance offering. At ICICI Lombard, our focus is to support our customers in their hour of need, thereby demonstrating our brand ethos of Nibhaye Vaade. As we get back to normal life amid social distancing, this product will surely benefit a large number of travelers, safeguarding them from any unforeseen circumstances. Further, the multi-trip, multi-mode makes this solution a convenient, cost-effective and extremely appealing proposition for the frequent traveler."

PhonePe users can purchase the domestic multi-trip insurance policy under the “My Money” section on the PhonePe app. The policy purchase process takes less than 2 minutes and customers will be issued their policy documents instantly on the PhonePe app.

About PhonePe:

PhonePe is India’s leading digital payments platform with over 200 million registered users. Using PhonePe, users can send and receive money, recharge mobile, DTH, data cards, pay at stores, make utility payments, buy gold and make investments. PhonePe forayed into financial services in 2017 with the launch of digital gold providing users with a safe and convenient option to buy 24-karat gold securely on its platform.

PhonePe has since launched Mutual funds and Insurance financial products like tax-saving funds, liquid funds, international travel insurance and Corona Care, a dedicated insurance product for the COVID-19 pandemic. PhonePe also launched its Switch platform in 2018, and today its customers can place orders on over 180 apps including Ola, Myntra, IRCTC, Goibibo, redBus, Oyo etc. directly from within the PhonePe mobile app. PhonePe is accepted at over 10 million merchant outlets across 400 cities nationally. 

About ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd

We are the largest private-sector non-life insurer in India based on gross direct premium income in fiscal 2020 (Source: IRDAI). We offer our customers a comprehensive and well-diversified range of products, including motor, health, crop, fire, personal accident, marine, engineering and liability insurance, through multiple distribution channels. 

ICICI Securities to Fund Fintech Startups Selected by NSRCEL of IIM-Bengaluru

NSRCEL, the startup hub at the Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru (IIMB), on Monday announced a list of 25 shortlisted fintech startups for a 15-month extensive programme.

The programme could see many of them receiving funding from the CSR fund of ICICI Securities, a leading financial services firm.

The selected ventures would undergo a three-month pre-incubation journey during which they would be engaged in sessions, workshops, peer-to-peer learning activities while getting regular one-on-one mentoring and advisory sessions, a joint statement from NSRCEL and ICICI Securities said.

Networking events, connects with industry experts, mock-pitches and interaction with investors would be the highlights of the programme, the statement said.

After this, the ventures would be given an opportunity to pitch for incubation and funding and the selected ventures would be taken forward for a further 12-month incubation journey, it said.

The initiative was launched in association with ICICI Securities as part of its CSR activity in April 2020, and got over 240 applications from across the country, the statement said.

COO of NSRCEL Rajiv Sawhney and its chairperson Venky Panchapagesan evaluated the applicants and interviewed over 60 entrepreneurs before handpicking the finalists.

The ventures selected are early-stage startups working in areas like trading, lending, payments, wealth advisory, insurance tech, accounting and financial management, billing software and auxiliary sector-logistics. The cohort covers the participants from Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Raipur, Noida, Udaipur and Hyderabad, the statement added.

ICICI Bank launches Voice Banking services on Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant

ICICI Bank on Monday said it has launched voice assistance-based banking services for its customers and they can check balance, seek credit card details as well as ask other queries among others through this application.

The bank said it has integrated its artificial intelligence (AI) powered multi-channel chatbot iPal with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant through which its retail banking customers can undertake host of banking services through voice commands.

This novel facility offers customers yet another way to connect with their bank from home at a time when they are advised to stay indoors in the wake of the nationwide lockdown, ICICI Bank said in a release.

Presenting, #ICICIBankVoiceBanking on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. The service will enable customers to #BankWithTheirVoice and get answers to banking queries, check account balance & transactions, credit card due date and more. Learn more: https://t.co/Tp3ZgbARgm pic.twitter.com/PnaB8eiwRs

— ICICI Bank (@ICICIBank) April 20, 2020

The private sector lender said the voice-based facility comes close on the heels of its new digital initiatives such as WhatsApp chat-based ICICIStack aimed at providing uninterrupted banking services for both retail and business customers.

It said the WhatsApp-based ICICIStack offers nearly 500 services that covers almost all banking requirements including digital account opening, loan solutions, payment solutions, investments and care solutions.

To get the benefit of the voice banking offering, customers need to download the Alexa/Google Assistant and link their ICICI Bank account through a secure two factor authentication process.

Anup Bagchi, Executive Director, ICICI Bank said, the lender recently rolled out ICICIStack to facilitate crores of customers to continue all their banking, digitally and from a remote location, without visiting a bank branch.

"Now, we have introduced voice banking on two of the most popular voice assistants in the world. Our retail customers can execute a host of their banking requirements from their home securely and 24x7, without visiting a branch," Bagchi said. PTI KPM KPM

PhonePe Resume Services, Partners ICICI Bank

A day after its UPI services were impacted due to an exclusive reliance on the beleaguered Yes Bank, financial app PhonePe on Saturday announced a resumption in services.

It has connected to second largest private sector lender ICICI Bank to act as a payment service provider in place of Yes Bank to make it possible. 

Its chief executive Sameer Nigam thanked ICICI Bank and the National Payments Corporation of India for making the transition possible in quick time.

After being put under moratorium, Yes Bank was put under severe restrictions including caps on payments, which impacted its ability to settle transactions on behalf of partners like PhonePe. 

At last count, there were 15 firms which were dependent on Yes Bank for the services and may be impacted in different measures. PTI AA

5 Reasons Why You Should Invest in ICICI Mutual Funds

Nowadays, mutual funds become one of the leading places where people can invest. It can be concluded from the fact that the number of mutual fund investors has sharply increased in the last few years. Although the mutual fund returns can be abruptly affected by market risks, investors are using various MF schemes to get decent returns within a lesser tenure.

Top-notch investment companies and banks of India deal in mutual funds providing the common people with a chance to invest and enjoy the returns. One of the reputed private banks of India, ICICI has several mutual fund schemes where you can invest. Here, you can get a clear idea about the top five reasons for which one can invest in an ICICI mutual fund.

Reasons why you should choose ICICI Mutual Funds

Here are some top reasons why you should choose the ICICI mutual funds. You can go through the following points that can assure you about the conveniences of taking the ICICI MFs.

Mutual fund investments are cost-effective

The ICICI mutual funds are generally huge in terms of investments. Several investors invest in a mutual fund which creates a big pool of funds. Every mutual fund scheme is headed by an asset manager. The processing charges of the services and returns are divided among every investor. Thus, ICICI mutual funds can be termed cost-effective.

Easy investing without a corpus

When investing in an ICICI mutual fund, it would not be necessary for the investors to have a corpus. Thus, investors can easily invest a large amount of money in a single go or may invest it in the form of installments. ICICI mutual funds have an outstanding SIP structure that allows the investors to invest the money in comfortable installments..

Mutual fund investors who do not have high savings can invest reasonable amounts following the SIP terms of the ICICI mutual funds. Simultaneously, people investing in an MF scheme in lump sum amount can enjoy more returns at a time, and SIP investments help in providing long-term returns. 

ICICI mutual funds offer tax benefits

Some ICICI mutual fund schemes offer tax benefits as per the guidelines of the article 80C under the Income Tax Act of India. So, it is very important for the investors to properly search in a scheme that provides such convenience.

In general, the ELSS funds can be the best option for the investors who aim for getting tax benefits on the returns of the mutual fund.

ICICI mutual fund provides lock-in MF schemes

The lock-in MF schemes can be the best for investors who have a tendency to spend all the money they have invested before they incur any return. An investor experiences a restriction on withdrawing the money when investing in a locked-in scheme. 

There are two prominent benefits of the lock-in MF schemes. Firstly, it ensures a reasonable return as the invested amount is not withdrawn. Moreover, you can avail tax benefits on the lock-in MF funds. However, it is not advisable for the investors who need regular returns to invest in the regular MF schemes.

Many options for different investors

ICICI MFs offers several mutual fund schemes to the investors keeping in mind about their unique financial goals. These MF schemes are available in various forms where the risk factors, types of assets, and tenure changes. As an investor, it is crucial for you to know your goal clearly. Moreover, the risk appetite also varies among them.

Thus, a person can invest in the ICICI mutual fund scheme that is designed exclusively for him by the bank. When you choose ICICI MFs to invest, be sure of getting the reasonable returns as there are well-experienced asset managers who will pilot your scheme.

Strategies to elevate the mutual fund returns

There are some effective strategies by which you can ensure getting higher returns against your mutual fund investments with ICICI mutual. Here, some strategies are mentioned in details: