How digitization is helping banks bridge last mile gap

The widespread adoption at scale is hindered by a big accessibility gap between technology and the end customers of microfinance institutions and banks - especially in rural areas.

The widespread adoption at scale is hindered by a big accessibility gap between technology and the end customers. Image Source: PTI

Digitization is giving a big boost to bridge the last mile digital gap in India while also providing much needed safeguard against corruption. It has a huge plus in terms of bringing people into a more modern economy.

Over the past few years, the adoption of digital execution of documents (electronic signatures, digital stamping and other digital document capabilities) has increased dramatically in the financial sector - especially among microfinance institutions.

However, widespread adoption at scale is hindered by a big accessibility gap between technology and the end customers of microfinance institutions and banks - especially in rural areas.

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Out of the 1.4 Billion population of India, only 15% or fewer Indians are comfortable and can understand documents in English. Local users gain confidence in navigating through documents without assistance when an English document is available to them in their local language.

As per a study, 63% of local language users would prefer to read and access documents exclusively in their regional language. Leegality, a document infrastructure platform, has introduced Local Language eSign Interfaces - to help scale up digitization of paperwork processes, especially in the micro-lending and banking space.

Shivam Singla, Founder of Leegality explained, “Microfinance institutions and banks are embracing digitization of paperwork in a big way. However, there is a gap between technology and the end customer that Microfinance Institutions and Banks serve - especially in rural areas - and this hinders digital adoption. With Local Language eSign, we hope to plug this gap - at least for digitization of paperwork processes”

Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) provide loans and other financial products to customers with limited or no access to financial services - generally microentrepreneurs and daily wage earners.

The end consumer would have to forego her/his daily wages and invest time in obtaining this financial assistance. With Leegality, the end MFI consumer no longer has to spend half a day doing paperwork and can sign everything in minutes.

With Local Language eSign Interfaces, businesses using Leegality can offer digital document journeys to customers in a language of their choice - at the click of a button.

“An underrated factor in the relative success of ATM usage in India has been the default ability for the customer to change the language in which the entire ATM interface is delivered. With Local Languages, we hope to do the same with digital document execution and signing journeys.” noted Singla.

Local Language eSign Interface is currently available in 9 Indian Languages – Hindi, Marathi, Odia, Gujarati, Malayalam, Bangla, Telegu, Tamil and Kannada – apart from English.

This enables true financial inclusion by covering 85 to 90% of the population of India. Leegality has announced that support for more languages is on the way. The firm provides modern digital infrastructure that enables Indian businesses to build, test and deploy digital journeys for document execution, signing and stamping processes in a fast, compliant way.

India's digital economy is expected to witness exponential growth to $800 billion by 2030 on the back of rising internet penetration and increasing income. Just as payments infrastructure has made collecting, making, settling and securing a payment so easy and smooth – Leegality’s document infrastructure makes all touchpoints in the paperwork journey as easy, fast and smooth. Completing the loan paperwork with a company that uses Leegality is as fast and easy as making a UPI payment on an app or in a kirana store.

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digital banking