10 Unique Initiatives Launched by ICICI Bank in 2017

1. Mera iMobile:

 

ICICI Bank launched a unique mobile banking app for rural customers that allow them to access banking services as well as information on agri services. Anyone including non-ICICI Bank customers can also download and use the app which is available in eleven Indian languages.

 

Christened, ‘Mera iMobile’, it allows users in rural areas to avail as many as 135 services -- some of which are unprecedented in the industry -- on their mobile phone, helping them to save the time and cost of visiting a branch to avail these services. 

 

Additionally, it is the first banking app to offer agriculture-related information like crop-wise mandi prices of nearly 230 crop varieties across 460 mandis. It also displays taluka-wise weather updates, aiding farmers to plan their sowing and harvesting activities conveniently and in an informed manner. 

 

2. DigiLocker 

 

ICICI Bank announced the integration of its retail internet banking platform with ‘DigiLocker’, an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. ‘DigiLocker’ is an online repository platform for issuance, verification and storage of digital certificates and documents on the cloud.

 

3. ICICI Group dedicates 100 ‘ICICI Digital Villages’ to the nation

 

ICICI Group dedicated 100 ‘ICICI Digital Villages’ to the nation marking the bank’s efforts to partner the nation’s progress by empowering rural India. 

 

The inauguration of the digital villages follows the bank’s commitment to transform 100 villages into ‘ICICI Digital Villages’ in as many days. The programme involves end to end digitization of transactions and other commercial activities, providing vocational training to villagers, extending credit facility and helping the villagers to access markets and earn a sustainable livelihood. 

 

4. Instant Personal Loans through ATMs

 

This service enables existing salaried customers of the bank to get pre-qualified personal loans in their savings account instantly, in a completely digital and paperless manner. 

 

The facility improves customer experience as it offers a bouquet of unique features: swift application in simple steps, multiple eligible loan amount options up to Rs.15 lakh based on pre-checked CIBIL scores and instant transfer of the money to the customer’s account. 

 

5. Instant Credit Card

 

This first-of-its-kind offering in the Indian banking industry enables the savings to account customers of the Bank to get a credit card instantly, in a completely digital and paperless manner. 

 

This new offering enables a few lakhs of pre-qualified customers to instantly get the credit card number and other important details online, using which, he/she can immediately start shopping online, without having to wait for the physical card to arrive. 

 

Available round-the-clock and on all days, a customer can get a credit card instantly with a credit limit of upto Rs four lakh based on pre-checked bureau scores. 

 

6. ‘Cashback’ Home Loans

 

ICICI Bank announced the launch of a new home loan, which offers borrowers the benefit of 1% cashback on every EMI, for the entire tenure of the loan. A unique offering in the industry, it is available for home loans with a minimum tenure of 15 years. 

 

This new home loan empowers borrowers to select their preferred mode of cashback. They can choose to utilize the cashback to prepay the principal outstanding of their home loan or take credit in their ICICI Bank account. Both residents, as well as NRI borrowers, are eligible to apply for the cash back home loan.

 

7. ICICI Bank commits Rs. 10 crores to the Indian Armed Forces

 

ICICI Bank committed a financial assistance of Rs. 10 crores to the Indian Armed Forces. The contribution, payable in two equal tranches this year and next year, will be utilised towards welfare activities and betterment of the families of ex-servicemen who have lost their lives guarding the nation. Ms. Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank handed over a cheque worth Rs. 5 crore to the Honourable Minister of Defence Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman at a function in the Raksha Mantralaya. 

 

8. ICICI Bank launches voice-based international remittance service on its Money2India application

 

ICICI Bank announced the launch of India’s first voice-based international remittance service to enable non-resident Indians (NRIs) to send money to any bank in India. With this new feature in the ICICI Bank’s Money2India app, an NRI customer can instantly initiate a remittance to his/her existing payees in India with just a simple voice command to Apple’s virtual voice assistant, Siri, on his/her Apple iPhone / iPad. 

A first-of-its-kind cross-border remittance service by a bank in the country, it improves customer’s convenience significantly as it replaces a five-step process, which was required to initiate a remittance to India earlier.

 

9. Paytm and ICICI Bank tie-up to offer short-term instant digital credit

 

Paytm, India’s largest payments platform has partnered with ICICI Bank, the country’s largest private sector bank by consolidated assets, to jointly launch ‘Paytm-ICICI Bank Postpaid’, the most seamless way to access interest-free short-term digital credit. This new offering will enable millions of Paytm customers to get access to instant credit for the first time for everyday use-cases ranging from movies to bill payments to flights to physical goods.

 

Based on the credit-score of the customer, the bank offers up to 45 days interest-free credit limit. It ranges from Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000, extendable up to Rs 20,000 based on the repayment history. Paytm-ICICI Bank Postpaid will also offer a quick checkout to customers with the Paytm Passcode.

 

10. ICICI Bank offers the country’s first instant Public Provident Fund (PPF) account facility

 

ICICI Bank, launched a digital service that enables customers to open a Public Provident Fund (PPF) account instantly and in a completely online and paperless manner. With this new facility, customers of the bank are no longer required to visit a branch and submit physical documents to open a PPF account. They can now conveniently open a PPF account anytime, anywhere using the bank’s digital channels of the internet and mobile banking.