India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) - Once Again Postman to Introduce Latest Banking Technology to Commoners

Thanks, Mr. Prime Minister to rely on people who are serving commoners for more than centuries.  To ensure financial inclusion of masses no other service provider (public or private) than India Post could act better. If latest payments banking system must reach every single Indian, Department of Post has to “work” with its existing 1.55 lakh post offices and its “strong manpower” which includes those beloved “Gang of Postmen and Grameen Dak Sewaks” (more than 3 lakhs in number) who “keep connecting” far-flung relatives residing at extreme miles in some distant corners of 1000s of Indian villages.

Knock, knock… Postmannnn: “here is a letter for you”

I can still remember Peon Kaku (Postman Uncle) calling me aloud “choto babu, your letter has arrived!” The man, clad in Khaki dress, used to come riding a bicycle with a side-bag full of letters and papers. Most of us can hardly deny that he was the first banking personnel we knew. The invasion of the Cell phone, Email and better banking services, depopularized those men in mass. But still today you can find them paddling from one house to another carrying love, hatred, order, blessings, joy, tears which are all put down on papers and sealed inside envelops send to deliver.

Stop, stop… Postman Uncle, what is this IPPB?

However, envisaging an accessible, affordable and trusted banking for the common man and to help speedily achieve the financial inclusion objectives of the Union Government, India post need to work hard. India is moving fast, so its government departments are trying to catch up the speed. Still, how can I forget the letters bringing the sad demise of a person reaches latest by a month from its sending date – factually, the last rites of the person got over and the relatives are not even ready to give a cold reaction!! Forget those miserable days… but attracting youth to visit a post office to use a new postal banking system or making them inquisitive to stop a postman for knowing how India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) work – could be a challenge – isn’t it?

Will you ask a student at the fourth standard to teach his own classmates? I must not remind you how simple it was to handle money orders in comparison to today’s mobile or computer-based payment banking system! Whatever user-friendly the platform becomes, still the postman with a basic school education or on the verge of retirement, must undulate his grey cells despite limited training is promised to be provided. They shall overcome someday! But shouldn’t we have to stick to the belief that “patience is a virtue”?

Give me light, I shall show you a New India…

The post office may be more than lakhs in number, but will it be possible to deliver services like ‘money transfer’, ‘direct benefit transfers’, ‘bill and utility payments’, ‘enterprise and merchant payments’ through ‘counter services’, ‘micro-ATM’, ‘mobile banking app’, ‘SMS’ and ‘IVR’ at the last mile in a village where still electricity has not reached  every household?

Some recent government data from (Saubhagya) shows us only 38.81% or 1,28,56,074 household out of targeted 3,31,29,506 household got connectivity. Let me remind you, the government deems a village “electrified” when power cables from the nearest power grid reach a transformer in a village and 10% households of the village have electricity to use. And more on that, keep another point in mind, those “household” include public places such as schools, health centers, and post office!!

Let post offices at those villages have electricity and get enabled to digital facilities to utilize state-of-the-art banking system?? I strongly believe, one day a 10th pass student askes Postman uncle- “Uncle how can I use IPPB to pay the electricity bill?”

Will IPPB’s “Aapka bank, aapke dwaar” survive “Paytm Karo”?

Earlier this week, the cabinet had approved an increase in spending for IPPB to Rs 1,435 crore. It hopes that this monetary armament will help IPPB to compete with aggressive private players like Airtel Payments Bank, Paytm Payments Bank, and others. The sources or information reveals that this investment will fuel improvement of payment bank related technology and recruitment/strengthening of human resource. Well, the biggest question stands here is the channel of utilization of these funds.

Will it be possible to create a strong strategy line for winning the race? Will there be no reservation (Quota for SC, ST, and OBC) applied in the selection of the human resource? Can we expect bright minds who are already working in this technology field, will be invited to join to bring “my bank to my door”?

Postman Uncle … are you bringing my bank to my doorstep today or Paytme karu?

Will someone stops asking me “Paytm Karo” or how soon will I be saying “wait… Mera bank he na (my own bank is there), bulaya he (I have asked my bank to my house)” …

Let me bring a scenario: “Hello, Post Office? Can I speak to Postman Uncle?” 

[Let me guess some answers from the opposite side:]

“Postman is on leave today”;

OR

“Yes, speaking, Ok, but… today I would not be able to visit your house…. Some urgent work is there…. Can I come tomorrow?”

OR

“I forgot, today is my last day at the post office, someone will visit tomorrow”

OR EVEN

Pray, this last assumption does not prove true in most of the cases -  “Sare jahann se accha, Hindositan hamara…. Ham bulbuleṉ haiṉ is ki, yih gulsitaṉ hamara ……THE NUMBER YOU ARE TRYING TO REACH IS NOT ANSWERING ANY CALL, PLEASE TRY SOMETIME LATER”…

For those who could not understand the ringtone, the translation stands like this: -

"Sare jahann se accha,Hindositan hamara…. Ham bulbuleṉ haiṉ is ki, yih gulsitaṉ hamara" …. (Better than the entire world, is our Hindustan, We are its nightingales, and it (is) our garden abode)

The line are from poetic song from poet Muhammad Iqbal and it is proven that a poet never lies.

I BELIEVE, AND STRONGLY 
BELIEVE IT that the lines would prove true for my country …

Salesforce CPQ Software - Configure Price Quotes Fast, Accurately and Personalized at Real-time

Recently, I came across the name Salesforce CPQ software that is making my friend’s sales and marketing job role easy! He claims that Salesforce Configure Price Quote software (or Salesforce CPQ software) is the sales tool that is helping his organization create accurate, personalized, targeted sales quotes for its customers. He also adds that reduced time in delivering personalized quotes utilizing centralized customer data in real-time help building customers’ confidence.

I was satisfied with his elaboration of Salesforce CPQ software benefits when I could make my own view out the benefits:

Comprehensive & configurable data streamlined on mouse clicks: In conventional manual quoting scenario sales teams need to run pillar to post to gather any vital information required for drafting the quotes. Now, with CPQ, quotes related to selling, up-selling or cross-selling groups of products or services can be configured easily. Anytime sales team can personalize products and services, and their components in aggregated forms to meet customer demands. Salesforce CPQ software helps in configuring packages and bundles to offer to customers with the clicks of a mouse in real-time. Availability of centralized data streamlines the process of preparing quote faster than any conventional method.

No guesswork, only accurate information: There should never be any point of guesswork when it comes to quoting a price. Due to accurate centralized database availability through Salesforce CPQ software customers are delivered highly accurate, specific and requirement oriented quotes. In later stages, confusions and conflicts do not arise, as all the information provided are genuine and backed by the database. Sales representatives cannot deny promises made in quotes. On the other hand, executive get authentic data sourced from the centralized database instead of relying on lesser dependable information gathered from different individual resources. What they used to do in past - guesswork quickly to complete the quotes and later try to match/rectify that info with available resources – those possibilities are minimized to almost nil with the use of CPQ software.

Only required and personalized quotes: When time is of higher importance in drafting quotes along with the accuracy of information, there should be equal weight to personalization of quotes. Earlier, sales team had to wade through huge information pile-ups (case studies and similar collaterals) to pick out particular matching information for any specific requisite. Due to the shortage of time, they in most of the cases had to rely on similar but non-specific information to draft the quotes. As a result, clients used to mark those quotes generic. Sales teams had to miss the bus due to the shortage of time to analyze the information manually. Salesforce CPQ software has relieved them from this situation. Now data are on click, can be analyzed quickly, and added immediately as per requirements. Let the customers demand adjustments to their purchase as per requirements, ask discounts, or anything specific - sales representatives can update quotes in real-time.

Reduced time to response: Hope reading up to this, one thing is clear – time plays an imperative role in drafting price quotes. Salesforce CPQ software has condensed the time to respond largely. The availability of vital data and option to draft quotes in real-time with available templates has improved the turnaround time to reach customers in grabbing the opportunities.

Automation & retention: There are generally several processes of price quoting. In some cases, quotes are to be converted to contracts. However, in other situations, customers demand to get proposals in specific proposal templates. With Salesforce CPQ software now sales team can get approvals and convert quotes to contracts quickly due to automation and use of tools like DocuSign, Echosign. There are ready and quickly customizable templates also to meet the demand of template specific proposals. In both the cases percentage of retaining customers with quick quote to contract conversion has improved a lot while tools transform any quoting automated.

Trust of Salesforce resource: Salesforce CPQ software is native to the Salesforce platform. Consequently, sales teams can utilize standard Salesforce dashboards, workflows and reports to gain accurate visibility into opportunities and even get quick automated approvals. Salesforce CPQ software is considered as one of the best risk mitigation tools. Salesforce data and CPQ software ensure deals are won with fast, error-free quotes. Nurture all up-sell opportunities relying on up-to-date data. After all, the sales team has right intelligence and reporting opportunity to quote the prices.

Finally, what I understood is that Salesforce CPQ software is not only a great addition to Salesforce customer relationship management platform, it is empowering sales team with quote pricing ability. CPQ software is a tool or can be called a suite for making price quoting fast, accurate, easy, reliable and even automated. Personalized price quoting is now on a mouse click and done in a real-time scenario. Thanks to Salesforce to acquire SteelBrick CPQ and providing option to use CPQ software in Salesforce CRM.