CX Trends for Banking In India, 2022

Traditional banking relationships are based on years of face-to-face customer care, but modern banking relationships are based on a customer’s ability to swiftly access banking goods and services digitally, via their phone or any device.

According to Deloitte, only 11% of financial institutions throughout the world have properly upgraded their core systems. Other banks, on the other hand, are having difficulty implementing modern technologies.

The challenges being faced by Indian banks:

Public Sector Banks struggling with economies of scale are not able to unleash technology on full scale to pass on low costs to consumers so far and despite the abundance of solution providers ready to help, more than half of the companies said they are having difficulty deploying artificial intelligence (AI).

Financial institutions will need to use new technologies that enhance agility, efficiency, security, and innovation to address these issues and become future-ready. Intelligent decisioning, open banking APIs, embedded solutions, cloud computing, metaverse banking, and cybersecurity will differentiate banks and credit unions in 2022 and beyond. Every technology deployment should make a concerted effort to improve digital consumer experiences on a big scale and in a timely manner.

Trends Revamping Customer Experience in Banking for 2022

AI and applied analytics

AI and advanced analytic algorithms can project reports on the organization’s processes and employees may use this data to improve back-office processes, customer service, loyalty, revenues, and save money and time.

Financial institutions will be able to provide the greatest value-added services in terms of client demands and preferences owing to AI and applied analytics. Personalized and contextual communication will explain how products and services fit customers’ needs in near-real time, reducing both engagement costs and financial consequences. At scale and in real-time, proactive and dynamic advising is also possible.

Conversation AI bots

With the development of chatbots, the high adoption rate of artificial intelligence (AI) has been leveraged to focus on customer happiness.

According to Mordor Intelligence, the chatbot industry was worth USD 17.17 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to USD 102.29 billion by 2026, with a CAGR of 34.75 percent between 2021 and 2026.

Chatbots in the banking industry uses cognitive analytics to facilitate communication and establish customer relationships by learning what consumers are thinking and responding instantly.

For instance, YES Bank introduced YES ROBOT, an AI-enabled chatbot to assist its customers. YES ROBOT uses conversational AI with vast financial knowledge to enable clients to conduct financial and non-financial banking transactions. Similarly, there’s Eva from HDFC, AXAA from Axis bank, ADI from Bank of Baroda, ABHi from Andhra bank and the list goes on.

Open Banking APIs

An open banking API approach can enable a variety of useful services for both users and providers.

Banking firms, for example, can collect useful data about buying habits, financial goals, and risk tolerance from both internal and external sources. This information can be utilized to improve multichannel marketing accuracy and provide proactive solutions and advisory services. It can aid in the introduction of services like phone banking, peer-to-peer lending, risk management, and loan processing, among others.

Despite the advantages, there are certain drawbacks, such as data security and financial privacy, the lack of grievance redressal procedures, compliance issues, and cybersecurity risks.

However, open banking models established by State Bank and Axis Bank make customer connections and transactions easier every day.

Neo Banking

According to Statista, the average transaction value per user in the Neobanking segment is US$4.71k in 2022 and is expected to expand at a rate of 20.60 percent annually (CAGR 2022-2026), resulting in a predicted total amount of US$101.40 billion by 2026.

Neo Banks are a cost-effective alternative to traditional banks, providing very convenient and user-friendly financial services specialized to a specific audience (both business and consumer). They provide savings accounts, prepaid cards, bill payments, and money transfers, as well as financial management services, 24-hour customer care, and high-security features. The user interface of the smartphone app is straightforward and intuitive. A transparent structure with a real-time notification feature.

Customer neo banks like Niyo, FamPay, Jupiter, and Fi raised $230 million in total in 2021. In the commercial neo banking industry, Open was reportedly valued at $500 million. Neo banking has a lot of space to grow in India, as smartphone imports (and usage) are continuously expanding.

Cloud Computing

According to a recent IDC report, approximately 80% of corporate banks in India will be using Cloud technology to run their trade finance and treasury workloads by 2024.

Cloud computing will open doors for banks to react rapidly to changing market conditions as well as obtain and analyze data in real-time, resulting in high engagement and personalization across all channels. Cloud technology will also help banks increase their customer base by providing a variety of mobile and application-based capabilities.

Embedded Finance

Embedded Finance has created an ecosystem in which any organization can offer innovative financial solutions on a single platform, spanning from credit card transactions to insurance, billing, and payments, all without requiring much human participation.

Embedded finance has played a critical role in India in encouraging the adoption of digital payments— UPI.

According to Statista, there were over 25 billion UPI transactions worth over 41 trillion Indian rupees in the fiscal year 2021. In the fiscal year 2025, the country’s transaction value is expected to exceed 128 trillion Indian rupees. The increase was due to a spike in peer-to-merchant transactions, implying that UPI might play a larger role in financial inclusion by bringing thousands of people from tier 3 cities and beyond into the digital economy.

Metaverse

A metaverse bank can provide a “telecommuting” center for employees and allow customers to roam around in their own virtual financial town, complete with a virtual branch and financial playground while interacting with content and a real-life agent through video chat.

Customers visiting virtual branches for excellent customer service, having a real-time mortgage broker visit their home, discussing retirement plans with an avatar advisor, attending an investor event, or participating in a bank-sponsored community programme are just a few of the new ways the metaverse has opened up for reaching out to new audiences, including a younger, more experienced generation of NFTs.

According to Lina Lim (HSBC, Asia Pacific), the metaverse ecosystem is still in its early stages, but it offers many interesting potentials as organizations of all sizes and backgrounds flock to it. Therefore, HSBC is investing $3.5 billion into its wealth and personal banking division.

What Lies Ahead

All of these trends lead to the Indian banking industry adopting technology quickly, but data security is a major worry for both banks and their consumers. Recently, Microsoft has made it possible for users to go password-free by using their Authenticator app. While this will not stop fraudsters from operating, as biometrics becomes more frequently used, it will provide an extra layer of security.

Cyberattacks are more common than any other sort of attack these days. Captchas and tick boxes are no longer adequate security measures. As a result, financial institutions must invest in data security and protection. Conduct audits and re-evaluations of existing systems. Above all, make sure that privacy policies don’t become a roadblock for customers.

The insurance industry thrives on relationships—but it can only scale through efficiency, precision, and timely distribution. While much of the digital transformation buzz has focused on customer-facing portals, the real transformation is happening in the field, where modern sales apps are quietly driving a smarter, faster, and more empowered agent network.

Let’s explore how mobile-first sales enablement platforms are reshaping insurance sales across prospecting, onboarding, servicing, renewals, and growth.

The Insurance Agent Needs More Than a CRM

Today’s insurance agent is not just a policy seller—they’re also a financial advisor, data gatherer, service representative, and the face of the brand. Yet many still rely on paper forms, disconnected tools, and manual processes.

That’s where intelligent sales apps come in—not just to digitize, but to optimize, personalize, and future-proof the entire agent journey.

Real-World Use Cases: What Smart Sales Apps Are Solving

Across the insurance value chain, sales agent apps have evolved into full-service platforms—streamlining operations, boosting conversions, and empowering agents in the field. These tools aren’t optional anymore, they’re critical to how modern insurers perform. Here’s how leading insurers are empowering their agents through technology:

1. Intelligent Prospecting & Lead Management

Sales apps now empower agents to:

Prioritize leads using filters like policy type, value, or geography
Schedule follow-ups with integrated agent calendars
Utilize locators to look for nearby branch offices or partner physicians
Register and service new leads directly from mobile devices

Agents spend significantly less time navigating through disjointed systems or chasing down information. With quick access to prioritized leads, appointment scheduling, and location tools—all in one app—they can focus more on meaningful customer interactions and closing sales, rather than administrative overhead.

2. Seamless Policy Servicing, Renewals & Claims

Sales apps centralize post-sale activities such as:

Tracking policy status, premium due date, and claims progress
Sending renewal reminders, greetings, and policy alerts in real-time
Accessing digital sales journeys and pre-filled forms.
Policy comparison, calculating premiums, and submitting documents digitally
Registering and monitoring customer complaints through the app itself

Customers receive a consistent and seamless experience across touchpoints—whether online, in-person, or via mobile. With digital forms, real-time policy updates, and instant access to servicing tools, agents can handle post-sale tasks like renewals and claims faster, without paperwork delays—leading to improved satisfaction and higher retention.

3. Remote Sales using Assisted Tools

Using smart tools, agents can:

Securely co-browse documents with customers through proposals
Share product visualizations in real time
Complete eKYC and onboarding remotely.

Agents can conduct secure, interactive consultations from anywhere—sharing proposals, visual aids, and completing eKYC remotely. This not only expands their reach to customers in digital-first or geographically dispersed markets, but also builds greater trust through real-time engagement, clear communication, and a personalized advisory experience—all without needing a physical presence.

4. Real-Time Training, Performance & Compliance Monitoring

Modern insurance apps provide:

On-demand access to training material
Commission dashboards and incentive monitoring
Performance reporting with actionable insights

Field agents gain access to real-time performance insights, training modules, and incentive tracking—directly within the app. This empowers them to upskill on the go, stay motivated through transparent goal-setting, and make informed decisions that align with overall business KPIs. The result is a more agile, knowledgeable, and performance-driven sales force.

5. End-to-End Sales Execution—Even Offline

Advanced insurance apps support:

Full application submission, from prospect to payment
Offline functionality in low-connectivity zones
Real-time needs analysis, quote generation, and e-signatures
Multi-login access with secure OTP-based authentication

Even in low-connectivity or remote Tier 2 and 3 markets, agents can operate at full capacity—thanks to offline capabilities, secure authentication, and end-to-end sales execution tools. This ensures uninterrupted productivity, faster policy issuance, and adherence to compliance standards, regardless of location or network availability.

6. AI-Powered Personalization for Health-Linked Products

Some forward-thinking insurers are combining AI with health platforms to:

Import real-time health data from fitness trackers or health apps
Offer hyper-personalized insurance suggestions based on lifestyle
Enable field agents to tailor recommendations with more context

By integrating real-time health data from fitness trackers and wellness apps, insurers can offer hyper-personalized, preventive insurance products tailored to individual lifestyles. This empowers agents to move beyond transactional selling—becoming trusted advisors who recommend coverage based on customers’ health habits, life stages, and future needs, ultimately deepening engagement and improving long-term retention.

The Mantra Labs Advantage: Turning Strategy into Scalable Execution

We help insurers go beyond surface-level digitization to build intelligent, mobile-first ecosystems that optimize agent efficiency and customer engagement—backed by real-world impact.

Seamless Sales Enablement for Travel Insurance

We partnered with a leading travel insurance provider to develop a high-performance agent workflow platform featuring:

Secure Logins: Instant credential-based access without sign-up friction
Real-Time Performance Dashboards: At-a-glance insights into daily/monthly targets, policy issuance, and collections
Frictionless Policy Issuance: Complete issuance post-payment and document verification
OCR Integration: Auto-filled customer details directly from passport scans, minimizing errors and speeding up onboarding

This mobile-first solution empowered agents to close policies faster with significantly reduced paperwork and data entry time—improving agent productivity by 2x and enabling sales at scale.

Engagement + Analytics Transformation for Health Insurance

For one of India’s leading health insurers, we helped implement a full-funnel engagement and analytics stack:

User Journey Intelligence: Replaced legacy systems to track granular app behavior—policy purchases, renewals, claims, discounts, and drop-offs. Enabled real-time behavioral segmentation and personalized push/email notifications.
Gamified Wellness with Fitness Tracking: Added gamified fitness engagement, with rewards based on step counts and interactive nutrition quizzes—driving repeat app visits and user loyalty.
Attribution Tracking: Trace the exact source of traffic—whether it’s a paid campaign, referral program, or organic source—adding a layer of precision to marketing ROI.
Analytics: Integrated analytics to identify user interest segments. This allowed for hyper-targeted email and in-app notifications that aligned perfectly with user intent, driving both relevance and response rates.

Whether you’re digitizing field sales, gamifying customer wellness, or fine-tuning your marketing engine, Mantra Labs brings the technology depth, insurance expertise, and user-first design to turn strategy into scalable execution.

If you’re ready to modernize your agent network – Get in touch with us to explore how we can build intelligent, mobile-first tools tailored to your distribution strategy. Just remember, the best sales apps aren’t just tools, they’re growth engines; and field sales success isn’t about more apps. It’s about the right workflows, in the right hands, at the right time.

CX Trends for Banking In India, 2022