Bank of Baroda Joins Account Aggregator Portal With Personal Loan Product To Tap Festive Shoppers

Bank of Baroda (BoB) has enlisted on the Account Aggregator (AA) platform, which is promoted by Sahamati, a member driven non-profit industry alliance body, with a personal loan product to capitalise on the festive sales season, the public-sector bank said on Thursday.

In a press release, BoB said it has joined the platform as a financial information user (FIU) and will provide other digital lending products besides personal loans in due course.

The AA framework, launched in September 2021, facilitates financial information sharing in a data-blind manner in real time between different regulated entities.

BoB executive director Joydeep Dutta Roy said that the AA platform gives the bank a unique opportunity to deliver a more personalised experience to customers.

He added that BoB’s ability to offer uniquely tailored products to customers would be significantly enhanced as other banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) entities regulated by IRDA, SEBI , and PFRDA, join the account aggregator framework.

How Does It Work?

The platform shares customers’ data with their consent to financial institutions after compiling them in a readable format for processing loans and other purposes.

BoB customers can now apply for a digital personal loan through the BoB world android or iOS application, net-banking channels, or its website. The loan process is fully digital and paperless.

BoB chief digital officer Akhil Handa explained the benefits, saying the AA ecosystem could be the “next big disruptor” in providing credit and investment options to millions of Indians.

BoB said that at the present moment they have their account aggregator interfaces with 5 companies, names of which are-- Cookiejar Technologies Private Limited (FINVU), Finsec AA Solutions Private Limited (Onemoney), CAMS Financial Information Services Private Limited (CAM FinServ), NESL Asset Data Limited (NADL), and Perfios Account Aggregation Services Private Limited (Anumati).

The Scope of Account Aggregator

In April this year, Union Bank of India became the first public-sector bank to join the AA framework as a financial information user (FIU) and a financial information provider (FIP). An FIU can request customer data from a FIP with customers’ consent to provide services like loans, wealth management, etc. Handa said the AA framework provides better risk monitoring capability, eases digital banking processes, gives customers access to new and innovative lending products, reductes turn around time (TAT) for processing of loans, provides easier access of credit to the unorganised sector, and other benefits.