ICICI Bank organises MSME conclave in Ghaziabad

·         Around 150 promoters and CFOs from the city participated in the conclave 

New Delhi: ICICI Bank Limited organised a conclave for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in Ghaziabad to discuss the role of digital banking in enhancing ease of doing business for the MSME segment. The conclave is part of a pan-India initiative undertaken by the Bank to reach out to MSME companies.

Organised in collaboration with industry associations such as Sahibabad Industries Association and Patparganj FIE Entrepreneurs Association, the conclave saw participation from around 150 promoters and CFOs from various industries based in Delhi and across the NCR region.

Mr. Atul Arora, Retail Business Head, ICICI Bank said, “We at ICICI Bank aim to offer innovative solutions to the help the MSME industry do business with ease as well as scale up their operations. The MSME Conclave at Ghaziabad resonates our effort in offering solutions that cater to all business needs of MSME customers. We are delighted to be engaging with industry leaders and highlighting our digital banking services that provide the highest level of convenience to our customers.“

The conclave witnessed an engaging panel discussion with experts from industry associations, leading industrialists of the city along with senior officials of ICICI Bank. The topics covered in the panel discussion included emerging opportunities and challenges faced by MSMEs, future course of the forex market and the need for digital banking platforms for the MSME segment.

Panelists comprised of representatives from the industry associations in the city, including Mr. N K Chopra, MD, ICCH Global Consulting Private Limited; Mr. Amit Priyadarshi, MD, Egate and Mr. Kamal Jhunjhunwala, a Charted Accountant, along with the ICICI Bank officials. 

ICICI Bank also showcased an array of digital banking facilities that have been exclusively crafted for the MSME segment. The Bank is the first in the country to have introduced a multitude of digital innovations for MSMEs, which provides them with a state-of-the-art digital facility right from the stage of initiation till maturity.

These key tailor-made products and services for MSME businesses include:

·         Digital opening of current account in a few hours: India’s first digital application form for opening current accounts that enables account opening in a few hours using tablets and smartphones. The facility enhances convenience as it captures information about the customer and the business digitally, and verifies KYC documents in real-time, at the premise of the customer.

·         Fully digital platform for export import transactions: The Bank has introduced ‘Trade Online’, a compelling digital banking platform that enables large, medium and small sized corporates as well as MSMEs to undertake almost all their export-import transactions online, eliminating  the requirement of physical documentation. It brings in significant convenience for customers as they are no longer required to visit a bank branch to initiate a trade transaction. They can now do so from anywhere, anytime in a secure manner.

·         Mobile app for collecting payments from customers: The Bank introduced ‘Eazypay’- the country’s first mobile app for merchants, professionals and traders among others that enables them to accept payments through multiple digital modes.

·         Connected Banking: ICICI Bank has partnered with several ERP service providers with a view to bring in the concept of ‘Connected Banking’ for MSMEs.  These partnerships resonate the Bank’s efforts at co-creating solutions that amalgamate services like banking, accounting and reconciliation on a single platform.

·         Quick working capital facilities: The Bank has recently introduced a slew of innovative services such as instant overdraft facility of up to Rs. 15 lakhs as well as business loans based on GST returns for its MSME customers. These propositions have been specifically designed to enable MSMEs fulfill their working capital requirements.

The Bank’s techno savvy services like 24X7 available cash acceptance machines and cash management solutions were also discussed in detail at the event. ICICI Bank has nearly 200 branches and around 1000 ATMs in the Delhi region.