The second session was all about the importance to deliberate upon various facets of traditional and technology-enabled distribution models.
Moderated by Prashant Kapoor, VP (new initiatives), Outlook Money, the panellists included Sameer Bansal, director-Bancassurance, PNB Metlife India Insurance, V. Ramesh, MD and CEO, MF Utilities India, Sudipto Roy, MD, Principal Retirement Advisors, Prashant Vagal, senior vice-president, National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), C.R. Chandrasekar, co-founder and CEO, FundsIndia, Wealth India Financial Services, and Abhishake Mathur, head-investment advisory services, ICICI Securities.
The discussion started with a round on how technology was impacting the distribution of financial products and services like robo advisory. Both Chandrasekar and Mathur, who are working on a technology platform, concurred that consumer, were receiving some form of advisory in a seamless manner, without realising it explicitly.
Vagal expressed how NSDL had transformed from being a depository to creating the process of a consolidated account statement for consumers. He described the opportunity of using technology for smart and optimised distribution as the way forward. Ramesh explained how MF Utilities was a convenient interface that works the way the depository participants work in the stock markets.
Bansal detailed the need for physical infrastructure, but did not rule out the possibility of digital technology being a dominant distribution channel. In fact, all the panellists felt that over the next three to five years, 50 per cent or more of their businesses will flow digitally.
The challenge of digital channel, however, is the sales conversion, according to Roy. The consensus that emerged was that digital transactions are here to stay; it is to see how other things fit in place.
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