UAE Exchange has the requisite expertise to make the society financially literate, and our dedicated team of staff makes sure that they are in sync with the customer needs, says V George Antony, MD & Country Head, UAE Exchange, in an interview with ENN.
Tell us about the services offered by UAE Exchange in India and globally.
UAE Exchange in India is a market leader in financial services. We have a gamut of various products and services that we provide in India and the world over. Our various services include domestic money transfer, money exchange, travel and tours, loans, prepaid cards and insurance. On a worldwide basis, we also provide services, such as international money transfer and foreign exchange.
Financial inclusion is the buzzword in India today. How do your services relate with it?
Being a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), we have always considered financial inclusion as the perfect way to make the whole society financially literate. We provide loans to customers, who reside in remote areas where there are no banks, and credit profiles are slightly risky. Providing financial services to such customers also aids to financial inclusion. mCommerce is one of the most promising and innovative developments that have taken place in the recent years. Our company offers prepaid instruments that can be availed using mobile phones.
How do you think IT can help expand your services in the country?
Our IT team is fully equipped with the latest technologies for providing quality services to our customers. It also bridges the gap between us and customers. In this digital era, where technology is inevitable in almost all spheres of life, we are extending our physical as well as digital hands towards our customers to offer the best possible financial solutions.
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Our IT team has developed mobile/tabletbased application for our customers. Our agents and staff play a pivotal role in expanding our reach and services across the country.
Tell us about your initiatives taken on the technology front.
Technology is our backbone, and we are ready to extend the support to our IT team by implementing the latest in the server and technology. We have initiated a server migration to one of the latest Hitachi storage, Sun servers. We have started rolling out the latest version of DB software for Sybase, and we are now embracing Spring framework. Though implementing changes in technology is not an easy task, we are taking quick and right decisions at the right time with the help of right people.
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What are some of the biggest challenges for you when it comes to IT?
One of the main challenges that our IT department faces is the continuous upgrading of technology and availability of human resources well-versed with the latest technology.
Financial services sector is subjected to numerous regulatory norms. How do your solutions help address these issues?
Being in the industry of financial services, we are subjected to many regulatory norms. As the company has over 350 branches at different geographical locations, we heavily depend on IT for compliances. Even a one-minute delay can cause issues, and we may have to face non-compliance of various regulatory norms.
To address the inherent complexities, our ISO 27001:2005 certified IT department has people who are good in analysis, design, coding and testing, and once a new regulatory norm is introduced, they do the changes in the system. Once tested we are sure that we are working within the radar of stipulations put forward by the regulatory authorities.