Private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. has witnessed a threefold increase in customer acquisitions since demonetisation, said a senior official.
“Our new customer acquisitions has grown threefold compared to September 2016,” said Ambuj Chandna, head - retail liabilities, investment and payment products, Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Demonetisation impact
“This happened mainly after demonetisation, when the entire nation started using digital as a mode to make payment.” To enable depositors to open digital savings accounts any time of the day within five minutes of using its mobile app, Kotak Mahindra Bank introduced Kotak 811 savings account, which comes with a host of features such as zero balance account, transfer of funds online for free and virtual debit card.
According to Mr. Chandna, 63% of new customers come from top 20 cities, 47% are salaried employees and 82% are in the age group of 18 to 35 years. He also attributed the spurt in customers to higher interest rates offered on savings bank accounts
“We have been offering up to 6% interest rates on savings bank accounts since 2011. Whereas, major players have now dropped it to 3.5%. Seeing the difference, many of the depositors have switched over to us. We will always maintain a lead over others and would always like to offer higher value,” he said.
On how long they would maintain up to 6% interest rate on savings bank account, he said: “We will try to maintain as long as we can. We manage our risks smartly. We also have expertise that allows us to balance customers on both sides. Since 2011, we are growing consistently at 40%, twice the speed compared to our peers.”
“There has been a paradigm shift after the roll-out of Kotak 811. Our total customer base increased from 8 million to 9 million and we are confident of doubling it within the next two years,” he said.
