Advisory Board:Mr. Sivakumar G.,Executive Vice President (Credit)Mr. John Thomas,Sr. Gen. Manager (Business Development Dept. )Mr. Paul V.L.,General Manager (Admin)

Editorial Board:Mr. Ajit C Jacob,Dy. GM (CRD)Mr. Peter A. D.,Dy. GM & Principal, SIBSTC, ThrissurMr. M. T. Jose,Dy. GM (Personnel)Mr. Biju E. Punnachalil,AGM (IRMD)Mr. Francy Jos E.,CM (CCO)Mr. Nanda Kumar C.,Manager, STCMrs. Sherin Thomas,Clerk, HO Inspection & Vigilance

Objectives:

To instil in the bank staff a sense of belonging and involvement in the bank’s affairsTo appreciate and applaud the individual achievements of our members of staffTo act as a communication medium between management and the staffTo increase the professional competence of our bank staff

Corporate Family Magazine of

South Indian Bank

Publisher:Mr. Thomas Joseph K.Executive Vice President (Operations)

EditorMrs. Sheela Davis, CM, Staff Training College

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Layout, Typeset & PrintingLumiere Printing WorksThrissur 680 020

Inside

Message

Articles

“FIN-TECH” Romita ChakrabortyCollaborations with Fintech and Start ups— The Need of the hour Javed Ahmed RawtherGlossary – Fin Tech Deepak DamodarAn introduction to Crypto Currency Deepu S.Distributed Ledger, Blockchain, Bitcoin … Amal Dev R.

AchievementsKnow your Branch & Know your BanK

Regular Features

Coimbatore region has always been unique in the historical pages of the milestones crossed by South Indian Bank. It always has the pride of beingthe first region formed outside Kerala on 21.07.1978 and is presently having fifty five branches and eighty six ATMs spread across varied geographi-cal area covering over eight districts in Tamil Nadu. Rededication of RO premises by our MD & CEO Mr V.G. Mathew on 5th August, 2017

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SIB Mahila Achievers Day awardees Kalaripayattu veteran Padmashree Meenakshi Gurukkal, Ace athlete Padmashree Anju Bobby George andPlayback singer Smt. Sujatha Mohan along with MD and CEO Sri. V.G. Mathew & Padmashree Bharat Mammootty.

Siblink Team Wishes a Happy & Prosperous New year

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Mr. Reghunathan K N, Executive Vice President (Treasury) receiving the Award in the category - Best Private Sector Bank - Priority Sector Lending(Agriculture) from Mr. Harun Rashid Khan, Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India. Mr. Manish Sinha, Managing Director, Dun & BradstreetIndia is also seen. India’s Top Bank’s & Banking Awards 2017 was conducted by Dun & Bradstreet.

Mr. John Thomas, our Sr. Gen. Manager - Business Development, delivering speech at the 26th Annual Management Convention of ThrissurManagement Association. Mr. Nadir B. Godrej (MD, Godrej Industries), Mr. G Sreeram (MD & CEO, Dhanalaxmi Bank ), Mr. K. Paul Thomas (MD & CEO,ESAF Small Finance Bank), Er. Christo George (CMD Hykon India & President, TMA), and Mr. V.P. Joseph (Former GM SIB & Past President TMA) arealso seen.

MD & CEO Speaks ....

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Technology and banking have a very close association.Technological developments are redefining the way the banksand financial institutions interact with their customers. Theadvent of banking products and services through internet,mobile phones, apps etc., paved the way for emergence ofFintech companies which today compete with banks usingtechnological innovations in the areas of e-payments, onlinetrading etc. Social media companies such as Facebook, Twitterand Google have a huge customer base and are already intothe financial sector, making the banking scenario even morecompetitive.

The millennials have different expectations and appetite forbanking and they would prefer to avail of banking servicesat their own comfort through online and social mediaplatforms. This changing customer behavior has furtherspurred the growth of Fintech.

Fintech has brought significant disruptions in the way peoplebank, especially in areas of payments and credit. The futureof banking depends on the ability of the conventional banksto stay relevant by providing robust, comfortable andcompetitive service proposition to the end users. A numberof banks including us are already working with Fintechcompanies to adopt and operationalise their innovative ideasand concepts.

Collaboration is the key in this field where many Fintechcompanies, though rich in ideas and innovation, do not havea structured platform for deploying their innovations whereasBanks do have such platform, but are short on innovation.

The current issue of Siblink will discuss a number of theseaspects in greater detail. I hope all of you will enjoy goingthrough this volume.

With season’s greetings and best wishes for a very happyNew Year,

V G MathewManaging Director & CEO

The future of banking depends on the ability ofthe conventional banks to stay relevant byproviding robust, comfortable and competitiveservice proposition to the end users. A numberof banks including us are already working withFintech companies to adopt and operationalisetheir innovative ideas and concepts.

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1. OVERVIEW AND CRUX

1.1 What is ‘Fintech’??Fintech is the short form of financial technologythat describes an emerging financial servicesector in the 21st century. Originally, the termwas applied to the technology and back-endof established consumer and trade financialinstitutions. From the end of the first decadeof the 21st century, the term has expanded toinclude any technological innovation in thef inancial sector, including innovations infinancial literacy and education, retail banking,investment and even crypto-currencies.

Financial Technology, nowadays better knownunder the term ‘fintech’, describes ‘a businessthat aims at provid ing financial services bymaking use of software and modern technology’.In the recent times, fintech companies directlycompete with banks in most areas of thefinancial sector to sell financial services andsolutions to customers. Mostly due toregulatory reasons and their internal structures,banks are struggling to compete with fintechstartups in terms of innovation, precision andspeed. Fintechs have realized early thatfinancial services of all kinds – includingmoney transfer, lending, investment, paymentsetc need to seamlessly integrate in the lives ofthe tech-savvy and sophisitcated customers oftoday to stay alive in this era where businessand private life become increasingly digitalized.Especially millenials (people born betweenapprox. the early 80s and late 90s) and thefollowing generations prefer quick and easybanking services over walking down to abranch, appointments with bank consultantsand time taking processes for meeting theirbanking requirements. On the contrary theyprefer hassle free digital banking andecommerce services, since the same allow fora more frictionless and stress-free platform.

“FIN-TECH” (Driver of a paradigm shiftin the immediate future of bankingsector) “There’s going to be more change in the financial services industry in the next 5 years than there’sbeen in the last 30 years”.

— Dan Schulman (Pay Pal CEO)

1.2 Breaking down the term ‘Fin-tech’The term financial technology can apply to anyinnovation in how people transact business,from the invention of money to double-entrybookkeeping. From the time of revolution ofinternet and mobiles the financial technologyhas grown leaps and bounds, and fintech, whichoriginally referred to computer technologyapplied to the back office of banks or tradingf irms, now describes a broad variety oftechnological services clubbed into personaland commercial finance.

The buzz around fintech has gained substantialattention of traditional financial institutions,startups, venture capitalists and regulators.Banks and regulators are forced to revisit theiroperating model and policies respectively tocreate a conducive environment ofcollaboration and dynamism amidst theparticipants in the fintech ecosystem.

The year 2015 was a formative year for theIndian fintech sector, that has witnessed theemergence of numerous f intech start-ups,incubators and investments from public andprivate investors. It was clearly reflected that aright mix of technical skills, capital investments,

government policies, regulatory framework andentrepreneurial and innovative mind-set couldbe the driving force to establish fintech as akey enabler for f inancial services in India.Formation of a robust fintech ecosystem wherestart-up firms engage in external partnershipswith financial institutions, universities andresearch institutions, technology experts andgovernment agencies is expected to be a keydriver for growth and innovation in the fintechsector.

1.3 Fintech’s Expanding HorizonsAlready technological innovation has uplifted20th century ways of trading and banking. Themobile-only stock trading app Robinhoodcharges no fees for trades, and peer-to-peerlending sites like Prosper and Lending Clubpromise to reduce rates by opening upcompetition for loans to broad market forces.Technologies being designed that should reachfruition by 2020 include mobile banking, mobiletrading on commodities exchanges, digitalwallets (like Apple (AAPL) and Google’s (GOOG)developing mobile wallet systems), financialadvisory and robo-advisor sites like LearnVestand Betterment, and all-in-one moneymanagement tools like Mint and Level.

1.4 New Tech in FintechIn the olden days, individuals and institutionsused the invisible hand of the market –represented by the signaling function of price– to make financial decisions. New technologies,like machine learning, predictive behavioralanalytics and data-driven marketing, will leadto the dropping of the guess work and hocus-pocus out of financial decisions. “Learning” appswill not only learn the habits of users, oftenhidden to themselves, but will engage users inlearning games to make their automatic,unconscious spending and saving decisionsbetter. On the back end, improved data analyticswill help institutional clients further screentheir investment decisions and open newopportunities for financial innovation.

1.5 Fintech UsersWho uses fintech??? There are four broadcategories: 1) B2B for banks and 2) their

Fig 1: Sectors of ‘Fintech’

Romita ChakrabortyAsst ManagerBr. Behala

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business clients; and 3) B2C for smallbusinesses and 4) consumers. Inclination of thepresent era towards mobile banking, increasedinformation, data and more accurate analyticsand decentralization of access will createavenues for all four groups to interact inheretofore unprecedented ways.

2. THE EVOLUTION OF FINTECHFintech – a contraction of “f inance” and“technology” is the use of technology in thefinancial services industry resulting in theintroduction of new and innovative productsand services, primarily through software. At thesame time however, Fintech disrupts andchallenges the way conventional andtraditional financial services and products areoffered by granting access to untroddenmarkets through alternative services supportedby technology.

Fintech has resulted in the emergence ofalternative f inancing through peer-to-peerlending and merchant financing by electronicmarketplace operators to merchants. OtherFintech advances include equity crowdfunding;digital currencies which operate independentof any central authority or banks; payment andremittance systems which bypass traditionalbanking channels; and the use of big data andanalytics to maximise available customer datato further leverage on customer relationships.

2.1 Fintech from the 1950s to the PresentFintech is a very diverse sector with a longhistory. Most people relate fintech only to thelatest mobile app which can help them pay fortheir day to day expenses without even swipinga card or touching currency. But technology hasalways played a very vital role in the financialsector in ways that most people take forgranted and might not ever see. In examiningthe timeline of fintech developments, the last65 years present a picture of continuedinnovation and evolution.

The 1950s brought us credit cards to ease theburden of carrying cash. The 1960s brought ATMsto replace tellers and branches. In the 1970s,electronic stock trading began on exchangetrading floors. The 1980s saw the rise of bankmainframe computers and more sophisticateddata and record-keeping systems. In the 1990s,the Internet and e-commerce business modelsflourished. The result was the introduction ofonline stock brokerage websites aimed at retailinvestors, replacing the phone-driven retail stockbrokering model.

These f ive decades of developments havecreated a financial technology infrastructurewhich most people never think about, but usealmost everyday. It’s also important to note thatthroughout that 50 year period, f intechdevelopments also created more sophisticatedrisk management, trade processing, treasurymanagement and data analysis tools at theinstitutional level for banks and f inancialservices firms. While these systems are notapparent to retail banking customers, they makeup a multibillion industry aimed at supportingthe needs of the financial services sector. Themost interesting fact about the last 65 years ofdevelopment in these technologicaladvancements is that while they becamemainstream and widely used by banks and theircustomers, the banking sector was notthreatened. On the contrary, banks grew withthe advent of these new technologies.

2.2 Fintech Services TodayNow, in the early part of the 21st century, retailfinancial services are being further digitized viamobile wallets, payment apps, robo-advisors forwealth and retirement planning, equitycrowdfunding platforms for access to privateand alternative investment opportunities andonline lending platforms. These f intechservices are not simple enhancements tobanking services, but rather replacing bankingservices completely. So, fintech can be thoughtof in two broad categories, consumer-facing andinstitutional. It is these consumer-facing fintechservices which are quickly gaining customersand competing with banks.

3. FINTECH “ECOSYSTEM”Together, governments, f inancial servicescompanies, and Fintech startups form anecosystem. From an innovation perspective, one’sachievement encourages and helps others toperform. Companies see what the other is doingand make similar adjustments to their productofferings to sustain in this competitiveenvironmet. There is also increased acceptanceof new technologies, as one’s addition of acertain technology helps fuel adoption.

Ultimately, Fintech ends up being a very smallworld. The people with the financial expertiseneeded to inform Fintech projects and thosewith the technological abilities to make thesesuggestions come to life more often betweencompanies, either through mergers, a consultingbasis, or employment.

3.1 Sectors of Fintech EcosystemConsumer Lending: This is the section ofFintech responsible for lending money toindividuals, such as through peer-to-peerlending companies. Examples: LendingClub, Prosper.Business Lending: There are also Fintechcompanies that provide ways forbusinesses to access additional capitalthrough loans and peer lending. Examples:OnDeck, Kabbage.Personal Finance: Fintech companies alsooffer tools for individuals to manage theirpersonal f inances through betterbudgeting, tracking spending, andmanaging buyer rewards like credit cardpoints. Examples: Mint, Credit Karma.Consumer Payments: Fintech powerspayments as well, whether it’s business tobusiness (B2B) or business to consumer(B2C). Examples: Apple Pay, Samsung Pay.Payments Backend: Fintech companies alsoprocess those payments and handleemployee payroll. Examples: ProPay, ADP.Point-of-Sale Payments: Paymentsconsumers make in a retail setting arecalled “point-of-sale” or POS. Examples:PayPal, Square.Equity Financing: Financial technologycompanies also let businesses raise moneythrough private equity. Examples:SeedInvest, Gust.Institutional Investing: Fintech companieswork with institutional investors as well,providing ways for companies to manageportfolios and tools for conductinganalyses. Examples: SumZero, Contix.Banking Infrastructure: Some Fintechsolutions benef it f inancial companiesdirectly through big-data analytics or API

Fig 2: ‘Fintech’ evolution over last 6 decades

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Fig 3: Evolution of financial services with ‘Fintech’ (a comparative analytic diagram)

integration. Examples: Mambu, Perzo.Financial Transaction Security: Fintechcompanies may also secure transactionsthrough fraud detection and identityverification. Examples: Riskified, Centrify.Crowdfund ing: Financial technologycompanies in crowdfunding helpcompanies raise money without incurringdebt or diluting ownership. Examples:Kickstarter, IndieGoGo.Retail and Commercial Banking: SomeFintech companies operate as alternativesto traditional banking services. Examples:Simple, Moven.Remittances: International money transfersare also included in Fintech. Examples:WorldRemit, Ebury.

4. PRESENT INDIAN SCENARIO AND DEGREEOF ADAPTIVITY TO FINTECHMultiple factors differentiate markets world-over, and the Fintech sector is not an exception.India, with its own set of challenges andopportunities, stands out as a unique marketfor Fintech, especially the paymentscommunity. Keen interest from the government

to reduce cash transactions (Initiative to gocashless and fully digital) with India being oneof the largest cash-driven markets is seen as amajor positive factor for the Fintech community.

With low but rapidly increasing levels of digital/internet penetration coupled with thegovernment initiatives, our country is attractinginvestments and interest from around the globe.

According to the report of The NationalAssociation of Software and Services Companies(NASSCOM), India has a presence of around 400companies in the f intech space, with aninvestment of about $420 million in 2015. TheNASSCOM report also estimated the fintechsoftware and services market to grow 1.7 timesby 2020, making it worth $8 billion.

The India Fintech Awards (IFTA) is a platformto celebrate and recognise the best innovationsfrom fintech companies.

The Indian fintech landscape is segmented asfollows – 34% in payment processing, followedby 32% in banking and 12% in the trading, publicand private markets.

Accelerators and incubators tapping the startupecosystem include PayPal’s Star Tank, Yes Bank’scollaboration with T-Hub, among others.Visakhapatnam (Vizag) is being developed asfintech hub and the local government of AndhraPradesh, had opened fintech Valley Tower topromote the investments in this area.

India Fintech Forum represents the Indianfintech firms as part of the Global Fintech HubsFederation (GFHF).

TheFintech industry is likely to continue its

Fig 4: ‘Fintech’ Ecosystem

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current growth trajectory, with the globalFintech software and services sector predictedto touch USD 45 billion by 2020 at a CompoundAnnual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.1%.

At this stage, India has created an ecosystem thatprovides start-ups an opportunity to exponentiallygrow into big businesses. Right from delving intoa range of unexplored segments to engaging withforeign markets, Fintech start-ups are deliveringinnovation that was previously difficult to achieve.The Indian Fintech software market is poised totouch USD 2.4 billion by 2020 from that of USD1.2 billion in the FY 2016.

In the last few years, the Indian economy, whichis signif icantly cash-driven, has takenadvantage of the Fintech opportunity. With awide range of options, including e-wallets,lending a nd insurance, the variety of servicesprovided in this sector are plenty and havechanged the pathway consumers carry out theirdaily transactions.

Fintech in India is especially beneficial, since thecountry boasts of an unparalleled youthdemographic which is rapidly growing.Furthermore, smartphone penetration is likely towitness an upward trajectory - from 53% in 2014to 64% by 2018. The financial services market inIndia is primarily untapped, with 40% of thepopulation having no association with any bankand more than 80% of the transactions carriedout through cash. This represents an opportunityfor Fintech start-ups to massively spread theirwings in different segments.

4.1 Fintech themes – New driveway of IndianFinancial ServicesEmergence of fintech companies in India is aprelude to the transformation in payments,lending and personal finance space that hasmanifested in significant investor interest in therecent times. Fintechs are enabling the entirevalue chain of the traditional f inancialinstitutions to establish better and strongconnections with customers and to provide new

avenues in the market.

Payments and financial inclusion have gainedmajor market attention. At the same time, thereis a strong case of investing in the lending andsecurity biometrics space of Fintech. Slowly, ahandful of companies are beginning to look atrobo-advice and Banks are inclining to newinvestment avenues. Blockchain is an emergingtech-mammoth and has a potential for massmarket implementation in future.

4.2 Boosters of Fintech in IndiaA range of factors have contributed towards thesuccess and development of the Fintechecosystem in India. With India’s populationgoing digital at a very fast pace, the number ofinternet users touched 450-465 million in June2017 and is expected to rise even further. Withgovernment’s consistent efforts to promotedigital services through ‘Digital India’ initiative,there lies an opportunity for existing Fintech

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Next-generation payment• 46 per cent of indian fintech are

focused on pavmentts and tradeprocessing

• Payment in’tistive such as UPIare expected to define thefuture of payments.

P2P lending• 20 new P2P lenders in india in

2015.• P2P on the verge of entering the

regulatory paradigm.

Bank in a box• Evolution of payment banks

and RRBs creating a surge indemannd.

• Non finance corporationsleveraging the technologystack of service providers

Fincial inclusion• Vision 2020 aims to put

financial exclusion to singledigit.

• Fintech storming in due to alot of government ledinitiative.

Blockchain• Industry coming together and

exploring different hypothesisthrough hackathons.

• Indian IT companies venturing intoBlockchain by opening innovationlabs.

Robo-advisory• Although miniacle at present, its

applicability is gaining ground• Can be revolutionary in personal

finance management.

Security and biometrics• Gaining ground with banks

exploring voice recognition systems• Aadhar linked biometrics can be

crucial in the years to come.

Key bases adoption and maturityHigh Medium Low

Fig 5: Seven major ‘Fintech’ Themes

start-ups as well as potential investors in theimmediate future.

Apart from this, the government’s push towardsfinancial inclusion for India’s population is acritical factor as well. The launch of ‘Jan DhanYojana’ scheme aims to provide a bank accountto every citizen. The Fintech start-ups cancapitalise on such opportunities by offeringsimplified and efficient transaction services.The government’s biometric identif icationdatabase, Aadhar, contains information of over1 billion Indian citizens; this is likely tominimise the effort required for first-levelverification of customers.

Furthermore, to emphasize cashlesstransactions, the government has introducedtax rebates for traders accepting more than50% as electronic payment.

5. COLLABORATION OF FINTECH ANDBANKING SECTOR- DISRUPTIVE ORBENEFICIAL ?The global Fintech industry is growing rapidly,driven by a powerful blend of innovative start-ups and major technology players. Banks thatwant to increase its potential must act now tofind ways to engage with these innovativeorganizations to achieve value-creatingcollaboration. Unless banks and Fintech firmsget better at working together, they will notreap the full benefits of innovation. They mustpartner, or they may perish.

Global economy, growing importance ofinnovations as well as wide use of technologieshave changed the banking business worldwide.Financial technologies (Fintech) have becomean integral part of banking, and nowadaysbanks have started to compete beyondf inancial services facing increasingcompetition from nonfinancial institutionsproviding, for example, payment services. Therapid rise of Fintech has changed the businesslandscape in banking asking for moreinnovative solutions. These recent tendenciesrequire the banks to increase investment inFintech, rethink service distribution channels,especially the business-to-consumers models,increase further standardization of back-officefunctions, etc. Some members of the financialservices industry see the boom in Fintech as athreat to traditional banking industry. Othersbelieve that Fintech has become a challengethat can be turned into an opportunity as itprovides more flexibility, better functionalityin some areas, and aggregation of services.

Much has been said and written about theimpending doom of banking, as customers beginto flock over to Fintech products and services.However, the claim that Fintech will kill bankingis still an overstatement. Until very recently,banks had an uninterrupted monopoly overbanking, f inancial, commercial, loans andinvestments. As banks got stuck firefighting thecrisis and dealing with regulation, tech was ableto focus on innovation and launch products andservices that became integral to people’s lives.Smartphones are arguably more valued bypeople over their wallets.

Since the global financial crisis of 2007-08,regulations have continued to evolve and becomeincreasingly complex, which means more costlyand time-consuming processes for banks. At thesame time, a new challenge has emerged: Fintech.

Fintech innovators harness internet and mobiletechnologies and big data to offer a range oftools and services — from tech-enabledpayments and crowdfunding, to currencyexchange, online lending and wealthmanagement services. The goal is to makefinancial services more efficient, and improvethe services that customers get from their banks.Enter the Fintech firms, who unbundled theservices offered by banks and even fused themtogether to be their verticals, focusing onsimplifying the experience for users. It’s thisexpertise in delivering convenience and thatmakes Fintech appealing.

5.1 Fintech – An Oppurtunity not Threat forBanking IndustryThe new wave of financial technology — better

known as fintech — is often portrayed as adisruptive force that threatens banks with new,agile and tech savvy competitors. Fintech istransforming the way people and companiesconnect with their banks, and the way banksmanage their back office operations.

However the issue can be looked at with a differentangle. Fintech complements rather than threatensbanking institutions. Banking has always beenabout technology, so today’s fintech innovationboom represents evolution rather than revolutionfor traditional banking. It is supplementing anddiversifying the existing financial system — notreplacing or disrupting it.

6. CONCLUSION- HOW FINTECH IS RESHAPINGBANKING“The threat of Fintech is the impact it will haveon customer expectations towards bankingservices”6.1 Banks Share of advantages over FintechfirmsReasons why nonbank fintech firms still face bigchallenges in competing with banks:

Banks have have history and trust with theircustomers: Banks are far too involved withtheir customers to be removed within anyforeseeable time frame. Business partnersand customers have been using the servicesof banks since well before the technologyboom. There is a history and trust that existsbetween banks and their customers thatfintech is still years away from rivaling.Banks have the deeper pockets : The marketcapitalization of Fintech companies issignificantly lower than traditional banks.

Fig 6: Effect of Fintechs on Retail Banks

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Banks also usually have better namerecognition. Having such a large marketcap is a signal of security to customers. Onthe other hand, smaller cap companies aremore susceptible to turbulence and marketvolatility — things business customerswould rather avoid.Banks maintain robust sales anddevelopment programs: Although Fintechhas made strides in improving theefficiency and ease of use for consumerproducts, traditional financial institutionshave the physical sales force that is bestequipped to help customers recognize andnavigate technological and structuralchanges.

Fintech companies usually have smallermarketing and sales organizationalstructures, favoring digital solutions overhumans. Customers often need and preferpersonal interaction and confirmation whendealing with money management andmaking any changes.Banks have big data. Although severalfintech startups are exploring big dataopportunities, banks still have the upperhand with respect to big data. After yearsof data collection, banks have in store largeincumbent customer bases and data recordsregarding customer transactions andbehavior. This information is a tremendousasset that banks possess, not f intech

Fig 7: Advantages of Fintech intervention in banking sector

Fig 8: Benefits and risks associated to Fintech

companies. This data can be used to identifycustomer requirement for new paymentservices and to mitigate and underwrite riskin innovative ways.

6.2 Joining hands for a win-win partnershipCompetition between banks and new entrantsmay give way to direct collaboration across theFintech ecosystem.In such case, both parties should prof it.Potential opportunities span from productdesign and development by the start-ups todistribution and infrastructure capabilities bybanks. However, several major impedimentsinhibit business relations between banks andFintechs. From the banks’ perspective, Fintechslack the proper IT security and regulatorycertainty, while Fintechs believe banks can bedifficult to work with due to differences inmanagement and culture as well as differencesin operational processes.

B2B solutions get at the heart of what oftenails legacy financial institutions, antiquatedtechnology that is difficult to maneuver. Banksare increasingly utilising open developmentand Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutionsoffered by Fintech start-ups in an effort to easilyintegrate and streamline operationalcapabilities and move toward digital/mobiledelivery. The incorporation of applicationprogram interfaces (APIs) enables third partiesto develop value-added solutions and featuresthat can easily be integrated with bankplatforms.

6.3 “PATH TO FOLLOW”Banks should continue to monitordevelopments in the Fintech space,including regulation, new products andactivities. Banks should not considerFintechs as a disruptive agent but anavenue to enhance the technology in theimmediate future to serve the customereven better.Banks should be proactive in determininghow they can compete or partner withFintech companies to provide moreeff icient and desirable services tocustomers.Banks should look at how Fintechcompanies can assist with meetingregulatory obligations and reducing riskthrough innovative technologies.

Fig 9: Comparison of banking scenario over time with the advent of Fintech

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Fintech - an acronym for Financial Technologyis the new buzz word across the globe and isawakening banks and financial institutionsalike to be aware of the challenges and newpossibilities that awaits them in the nearfuture. It has been imperative for banks,irrespective of region and geography toembrace the future and be open to the ideaand challenge of technology taking centrestage in the field of banking with emergingand disruptive technologies like Block Chain,Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, ArtificialIntelligence, Robotic Process automation,IOT(Internet of Things) to name a few.

Fintech companies make a huge differencein accelerating the pace at which changehappens are also responsible for reshapingthe financial services industry radically. Bankshave shown keen interest in recognizing thepotentials of fintechs which the sole objectiveto collaborate with them so as to ensure andusher in enhanced products and value to theircustomers which in turn helps in retentionand long term relationships.

Initiatives taken up by South Indian Bank

VR and AR ( Virtual Reality and AugmentedReality)Virtual reality (VR) is a computer technologythat uses Virtual reality headsets, sometimesin combination with physical spaces or multi-projected environments, to generate realisticimages, sounds and other sensations thatsimulate a user’s physical presence in a virtualor imaginary environment. Augmented Realityis a live direct or indirect view of a physical,real-world environment whose elements areaugmented by computer-generated sensoryinput such as sound, video, graphics or GPS

Collaborations with Fintech and Start ups—The Need of the hour

data. Augmented reality enhances one’scurrent perception of reality, whereas incontrast, virtual reality replaces the real worldwith a simulated one

Augmented reality and Virtual Reality isquickly becoming one of the hottest trends inthe marketing and advertising industries,recognized as an innovative and creative wayof connecting with customers and increasingengagement.

In order to bring out unique experience forits customers and to ensure a positive brandengagement exercise, South Indian Bankpartnered with Ms VRnxt, a Tech Start up torollout Vallamkalli (Snake Boat Race)experience using VR/AR technology which wassomething unique and novel and wasshowcased in select malls in Kerala during thefestive season of Onam . The response receivedfor the event was very positive on the groundlevel and favorable reviews and response wasalso received from the social media platformsof our Bank where the 360 degree video of

the boat race and the post event video wasalso uploaded.

SIBermart-Our very own E CommerceShopping GatewayAlways innovating and finding new ways toengage with the customers is the order of theday and going one step ahead in this direction,we have partnered with Ms FTL TechnologySystems ltd, a shopping web site platformaggregator and together we have launchedSIBermart, an commerce Comparison ShoppingEngine which will have the features of Searchand compare prices of products across e-commerce portals and customer can choosethe portal from where to make the purchase .Online and mobile customer’s of our banks canaccess the SIBermart portal and validate theircredentials. Post successful validation theSIBermart portals enables them to compareproducts across e commerce websites likeAmazon, Flipkart, InfiBeam, Tata Cliq, etc andmove onwards to the respective selectedportal. By giving an opportunity for customersto have an experience of retail shoppingthrough the portal, we will in the long run beable to successfully engage the customersmeaning fully and pro actively with the banksand its services.

Onam celebrations: RO Trivandrum

Javed Ahmed RawtherSenior ManagerDigital Banking Dept.

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The KITCHEN CAN- A Start Up InitiativeHaving a very vibrant start up eco system isvery essential to the community and countryfor the specific needs of enterprising minds,consistent job creation and value drivencompanies which can be engines of growth.A startup ecosystem is formed bypeople, startups in their various stages andvarious types of organizations in a location(physical or virtual), interacting as a systemto create and scale new startup companies.

As an initiative to reach out to potential fintechs and startups to work with the bank andto showcase ourselves as a receptive partnerto new initiatives and technologies, we havepartnered with THE KITCHEN, a non profitinitiative wherein a platform is provided forstart ups and fintechs, especially in the areasof Fintech,Payments, IOT(Internet of Things),Virtual Reality, Robotics , Mobility etc and alsoother areas.

After Partnering with event , we have beenable to take forward some of the relationshipsto the next level wherein Bank has been ableto identify potential partners to collaboratefor mutual benef it to ensure we havesomething unique for the customer toexperience.

Partnering with Maker Village Cochin ~ AnElectronics Incubator.As part of partnering with the KITCHEN CANevent, we had the opportunity to explore andto partner with Maker Village, Cochin, anelectronics incubator which is a joint initiativeby Ministry of Electronics and InformationTechnology (MeitY) and Indian Institute ofInformation Technology and ManagementKerala (IIITM K), the nodal agency of theproject, Kerala Startup Mission and Govt of

Kerala to promote consumer electronics basedinnovation and set up labs and innovationcenters that focus on the current trend andemerging technologies of disruptive nature tobring India to the forefront of innovation inthe electronics space.

We have been able to initiate discussions withstartups based out of Maker Village to explorecollaborative opportunities wherein a seniorlevel delegation from the bank had done ascreening of the start ups and their ideas. Thebank intends to provide them a platform tosupport viable and feasible ideas which canbe used for valid scenarios and to extractpossible mileage out of collaboration.

Block ChainOne the technology to have most importantimpact on human history is blockchain , lesscommonly known as distributed ledgertechnology (DLT), and is the underlyingfoundation that can create shared digitaldatabases of entries that are unchangeableBlock chain is a foundational technology andis transforming internet from an internet ofinformation to internet of value. Block chainwill help you transfer value digitally acrosstime and space .Block chain has evolved frombeing the base technology of bitcoin and ismaking its leeway into enterprise .Block chain is transforming every type of business andchanging the business models across the worldacross industries. Blockchain is finding its usecases every industry, fintech, supply chain, IOT,healthcare to name a few.

Banks in India have been pro active inidentifying the utility of Block Chain and howthe same can impact the financial servicessector in areas of remittances , trade finance,syndication, Corporate Loan, AML, KYCvalidations, Supply Chain Finance and otherareas.

Banks are partnering with Fintech companiesto collaborate and identify valid use cases toidentify smoother processes and bettervalidation and integrity. Bank Chain is acollaborative group wherein South IndianBank is a member and together with Bankslike SBI, ICCI Bank, Bank of Baroda and othermajor remittances house, work together toidentify and leverage the platform of BlockChain to identify valid use cases in Bankingand to initiate Proof of Concept based projectwhich will eventually turn out to a PilotOperation of the Technology which oncevalidated can be moved into production.

To Sum it UpConstantly innovating and improving is thehallmark of f intech companies and in thefuture, Banks will identify partnering withFintech companies as a business modelwherein the Fintech partners are treated ascorporate clients who use the platformsoffered by banks to reach out to neweraudiences and banks .We are positioned in theindustry to grab the opportunity of initiatingcollaborative partnerships with Fintech andother valid opportunities to ensure that theBank and its customers benefits from the sameand the journey has started in the right note.

Kerala Management Association's Excellence Award 2017(Special Jury Mention) M T Jose, Dy Gen.Manager (Personnel) and Sanjeev Soman K, Senior Manager(Personnel) receiving from Mr DeepakVohra Ex-Indian Ambassador to Poland, for Innovative HR policies undertaken by our Bank

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inauguration of R T C at Coimbatore by Sri Benoy Varghese, SGM (Credit),in the presence of Ms Minu Moonjely, DGM & Regional Head, Mr VincentVellanikaran and Mr Anoop A V CMs, RO Coimbatore.

Inaugurations & Events

Inauguration of our 52nd Extension counter at St. John’s Medical College& Hospital attached to branch Koramangala by Rev. Dr. Paul Parathazham,(Director, St. John’s MCH) in the presence of Mr. Jose P. Varghese (DGM &Regional Head), Dr. John Joseph Alapatt (Bank Director) on 21.07.2017

Inauguration of First Aadhaar Enrollment Station at Banerji Rd Br.,Ernakulam by Sri. Raphael T J, SGM and CIO, in the presence of Sri. Naushad,Regional Coordinator, UIDAI, Sri. Shelly Joseph, JGM and Regional Head,RO Ernakulam, Sri. Ajit C Jacob, DGM, Customer Relations Dept and Sri.Sreekumar Chengath, DGM, Transaction Banking Dept. on 08.09. 2017

Inauguration of Branch Nagpur Sadar by Rev. Fr. Abraham V. (Archbishop,Archdiocese of Nagpur) in the presence of Sri. R. Murlidhar (ED -Finance,Sun flag Iron & Steel Co. Ltd.), Sri. Anup Kumar Satpathy (CGM, ContainerCorporation of India Ltd), Sri. T. P Joseph (AGM & Regional Head, R OPune), Shri. Chintan Jain (BM, Nagpur Sadar) on 23.08.2017.

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65th edition of Nehru Trophy Boat Race was held on August 12, 2017 atAlappuzha. We were one of the sponsors and launched a motor boatbranded with Bank's advertisement. The boat was flagged off at 9.00a.m. by Mr. Joly Sebastian, DGM & Regional Head, RO Tiruvalla.

Group Life Term Insurance claim Rs.20 lakh handed over to nominees ofLate. Smt. Elsy M.A. by Sri. V. L. Paul (GM Admin) and Sri. Thomas Antony(Reg. Head - SBI Life Insurance), Sri. M.T. Jose (DGM & Head - PersonnelDepartment) along with other dignitaries.

This is a small and limited Glossary of Terms from the big world ofFinancial Technologies. Wherever possible the technologies areexplained in relation to our Bank.

API: Application Program Interface. Software that allows twodifferent softwares to communicate with each other instantly. Inour HRMS system, when expense is verified the credit happensthrough API's from HRMS to Finacle

BIG DATA: Big data is a term for data sets that are so large orcomplex that traditional data processing application software isinadequate to deal with them. Big data challenges include capturingdata, data storage, data analysis, search, sharing, transfer,visualization, querying, updating and information privacy.Implementation is under progress in our DBD in this area especiallyanalytics of our big Customer data

BIOMETRIC AUTHENTICATION: Biometric authentication isa security process that relies on the unique biological characteristicsof an individual to verify that he is who is says he is. Our HRMSsystem is having Biometric devices integrated to capture theattendance of employees.

BLOCK CHAIN: A record of all public bitcoin transactions updatedin real time.A blockchain can serve as an open, distributed ledgerthat can record transactions between two parties efficiently and ina verifiable and permanent way. Lot of research is happening inthis area in Banks and FIs

CLOUD: A virtual infrastructure that holds an unlimited amount ofdata and information. The practice of using a network of remote servershosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, ratherthan a local server or a personal computer. Public and Private Cloudsare being offered by various players. Banks are getting into this spacecarefully due to security concerns. However considering the costadvantage private clouds are getting popular in Financial industry

CRM: Customer relationship management (CRM) is a term that refersto practices, strategies and technologies that companies use tomanage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout thecustomer lifecycle, with the goal of improving business relationshipswith customers, assisting in customer retention and driving salesgrowth. We are having the CRM solution from Microsoft. The solutionis getting widened to capture more customer data.

DIGITAL SIGNATURE: A valid digital signature gives a recipientreason to believe that the message was created by a known sender(authentication), that the sender cannot deny having sent the message(non-repudiation), and that the message was not altered in transit(integrity). A digital certificate, an electronic document that containsthe digital signature of the certificate-issuing authority, binds togethera public key with an identity and can be used to verify a public keybelongs to a particular person or entity. All our RTGS/NEFT messages

are digitally signed before being send into RBI network.

ENCRYPTION: Encryption is the most effective way to achieve datasecurity. To read an encrypted file, you must have access to a secretkey or password that enables you to decrypt it. Unencrypted data iscalled plain text .Encrypted data is referred to as cipher text. All ourFinancial data is transferred in Encrypted form through the network.Watch out for the https in the URL address of Finacle, which meansthe data is encrypted and transferred

ETHICAL HACKING: An Ethical Hacker exposes vulnerabilities insoftware to help business owners fix those security holes before amalicious hacker discovers them. We do VAPT(Vulnerability Assessmentand Penetration Testing) whenever we have a requirement to exposethe software to Internet. This will assess the security vulnerabilitiesof the software and the same gets fixed on an ongoing basis.

INTERNET OF THINGS: The interconnection via the Internet ofcomputing devices embedded in everyday objects, enabling them tosend and receive data. Along with ATMs, banks can use IOT data inbringing on demand services closer to customers by providing kiosks,and increase the accessibility of services to customers.

NACH: National Automated Clearing House also known as NACH isthe centralised web-based payment solution that helps the banks,corporate sectors, government and other financial institutions tohandle bulk payments. NACH transactions are handled centrally inour Mumbai CTS Team. For DBT and other Govt schemes, we haveCPSMS software to automate the credits into FINACLE.

SCM: Supply chain management (SCM) is the oversight of materials,information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier tomanufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Supply chainmanagement involves coordinating and integrating these flows bothwithin and among companies. We are in the process of implementingthis solution which could cater to our corporate customers

SSO: Single Sign On (SSO) occurs when a user logs in to oneapplication and is then signed in to other applications automatically,regardless of the platform, technology, or domain the user is using.The user signs in only one time hence the naming of the feature(Single Sign On). The SSO feature in Finacle where the same usercan access, Finacle, Signature Module and Customer module in onesingle login is an example.

SWIFT: The Society for Worldwide Interbank FinancialTelecommunication (SWIFT) provides a network that enables financialinstitutions worldwide to send and receive information about financialtransactions in a secure, standardized and reliable environment. Wehave exclusive connectivty to SWIFT network for handlinginternational transactions

Glossary – Fin Tech

Deepak DamodarChief ManagerIT Operations Dept

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Defining crypto currency in its simplest formis that it is digital money, created from digitalcodes. Now since it is defined as “digital”, howsafe is it? How can you have a purely digitalcurrency? Can’t I just copy your digital currencyand keep it? Its obvious that we will have suchdoubts getting raised in our minds. Just try toget some quotes from people around the globeregarding “Bitcoin”, which is a worldwidecryptocurrency and digital payment system andyou may come across in many promisingstatements.

“Bitcoin is a remarkable achievement and theability to create something that is not duplicatein the digital world has enormous value” - EricSchmidt, Executive Chairman of Alphabet Inc(Parent Company of Google).

If I have framed the introduction right, you mayalso be wonderstruck now that how a conceptlike crypto- currency survived, rather evolvedto a stature that it is enjoying today. Myobjective is a sincere effort to explain the mostimportant things about crypto currencies.Crypto-currencies have become a globalphenomenon known to most people. While itis still in the grey area and not understood bymany people, many in the world are gettingaware of its increasing importance.

Let us try to understand crypto-currencieswhich emerged as a side product of anotherinvention. Satoshi Nakamoto, the unknowninventor of Bitcoin, which is the first and stillmost important crypto-currency, never intendedto invent a currency. In the nineties, there hadbeen many failed attempts to create digitalmoney. After seeing all the centralized attemptsfail, Satoshi tried to build a digital cash systemwithout a central entity. Like a Peer-to-Peernetwork (interconnected nodes without acentralized administrative system) for f ile

sharing. This decision resulted the birth ofcrypto-currency. In his announcement of Bitcoinin late 2008, Satoshi declared that he hasdeveloped “A Peer-to-Peer Electronic CashSystem”which was a decentralized digital cashsystem.

So what was Satoshi’s magic to realize this puredigital currency? Though the answer is a bittechnical, we will try to understand it in a simpleway. To realize digital cash, you need a paymentnetwork with accounts, balances, andtransaction. One major problem that everypayment network has to solve is to preventdouble spending i.e. to prevent one entity fromspending the same amount twice. In ourpayment systems, this is done by a central serverwhich keeps record about the balances. In adecentralized network, there won’t be such aserver. So, how is this verification done in adecentralized network? Satoshi proved that itis possible to achieve this consensus without acentral authority by employing every singleentity of the network to do this job. Every peerin the network needs to have a list with alltransactions to check if future transactions arevalid or if there is an attempt to double spend.

Even if the peers of the network disagree aboutonly one single, minor balance, everything isbroken. This is the concept known as Blockchainand crypto-currencies are a part of this solution.Hence, crypto-currencies, if reduced to a simpledefinition, can be taken as limited entries in adatabase which no one can change without

fulfilling specific conditions. This sound normal,but isn’t it exactly how we define a currency?

Consider the money in your bank account: Whatis it more than entries in a database that canonly be changed under specific conditions? Youcan even take physical coins and notes: theyare also limited entries in a public physicaldatabase. Now, we all will agree that Money isall about a verif ied entry in some kind ofdatabase of accounts, balances, andtransactions.

A crypto-currency like Bitcoin consists of anetwork of peers. Every peer has a record of thecomplete history of all transactions and thebalance of every account. The transaction isknown almost immediately by the wholenetwork but only after a specific amount of timeit gets confirmed. It is to be understood thatconfirmation is a critical concept in crypto-currencies since crypto-currencies are all aboutconf irmation. As long as a transaction isunconfirmed, it is pending and can be forged.Forging a transaction here is a long topic fordiscussion and I leave it to the reader ifinterested, to do a quick analysis on this andunderstand how it is near impossible to do that.When a transaction is confirmed, it is set instone. It is no longer forgeable and it can‘t bereversed and it will become a part of animmutable record of historical transactions: ofthe so-called blockchain.

The next major term in a crypto currencynetwork is “miners”. Who are they? Are they likeGold miners? The miner‘s activity is the singlemost important part of crypto-currency system.Principally everybody can be a miner. Since adecentralized network has no authority todelegate this task, a crypto-currency needs somekind of mechanism to prevent one ruling partyfrom abusing it. Imagine someone createsthousands of peers and spreads forgedtransactions This can result in system breakimmediately. So, Satoshi set the rule that theminers need to invest some work of theircomputers (processing power) to qualify for thistask. In fact, they have to find a hash – a productof a cryptographic function – that connects thenew block with its predecessor. This is the onlyimportant basis of a cryptologic puzzle theminers compete to solve. After f inding asolution, a miner can build a block and add it tothe blockchain. As an incentive, he has the rightto add a so-called coinbase transaction thatgives him a specific number of Bitcoins. This isthe only way to create valid Bitcoins.

Deepu SSenior ManagerIT Operations Dept

An introduction to CryptoCurrency

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of passports, record land registries, licenses andoutlay of social security benefits as well asvoting procedures. While the distributed ledgertechnology has multiple advantages, it’s in anascent stage and is still being explored toadopt in the best possible ways. Numerousbanks trialed distributed ledgers forinternational payments.

One of the successful implementation ofdistributed ledger is ‘BlockChain from Bitcoin’.it was originally conceptualized by ananonymous person or group known as SatoshiNakamoto, in 2008 and implemented thefollowing year as the accounting method for thevirtual currency Bitcoin, where it serves as adigitized, decentralized public ledger for alltransactions. BlockChain is constantly growingas ‘completed’ blocks (the most recenttransactions) are recorded and added to it inchronological order, it allows marketparticipants to keep track of digital currencytransactions without central recordkeeping. Inconventional banking terms, blockchain is likea full history of a f inancial institution’stransactions, and each block is like an individualbank statement and the entire data is distributedto all the participants of the network. It is likeeveryone is having a copy of entire transactions.

Bitcoin, being the f irst successfulimplementation of distributed ledgertechnology as digital currency, it compensatesfor the lack of a physical coin by tracing thehistory of each transaction and logging thathistory each time a coin is transferred from oneperson to another. Each bitcoin trade makesavailable the full history of that bitcoin, in theblockchain. The blockchain database is sharedby all nodes (computers connected to thenetwork) participating in the Bitcoin system.Upon joining the network, each connectedcomputer receives a copy of the blockchain,which has records, and stands as proof of, everytransaction ever executed. In order for entriesin the blockchain to be trustworthy and secure,Bitcoin relies on significant computational

Distributed Ledger, Blockchain, Bitcoin …

Amal Dev R.Asst. Manager ITIT Operations Dept.

Only miners can confirm transactions. This istheir major job in a crypto-currency network.They take transactions, stamp them aslegitimate and spread them in the network.After a transaction is confirmed by a miner,every node has to add it to its database andbecomes a part of the blockchain. For this job,the miners get rewarded with a token of thecrypto-currency, for example with Bitcoins.

Now you would have understood that Bitcoinscan only be created if miners solve acryptographic puzzle. Since the difficulty of thispuzzle increases with the amount of computerpower that gets invested, there is only a specificamount of crypto-currency token that can becreated in a given amount of time. They arecalled CRYPTOcurrencies because theconsensus-keeping process is secured by strongcryptography. Crypto-currencies are not securedby people or by trust, but by pure mathematics.Due to its revolutionary transactional andmonetary properties, crypto-currencies havebecome a success. You would now agree withme that crypto-currencies are digital gold.Sound money that is secure from politicalinfluence. Money that promises to preserve andincrease its value over time. Crypto-currenciesare also a fast and comfortable means ofpayment with a worldwide scope.

Like any other technology, it has got itsproblems too- they are private and anonymousenough to serve as a means of payment forblack markets and any other outlawedeconomic activity. But while crypto-currenciesare mainly used for payment, its use as a meansof speculation and a store of value limits thepayment aspects.

Crypto-currencies have three useful qualitiesin a currency, according to The Economist inJanuary 2015: they are “hard to earn, limited insupply and easy to verify”. Economists definemoney as a store of value, a medium ofexchange, and a unit of account and agree thatCrypto-currencies have some way to go to meetall these criteria.

My dear colleagues, I believe that the fewminutes spent with this article would havehelped you understand the world of digitalcurrencies. The economy has always emerged:from Barter economy system to adopting goldand later on fiat money as the medium ofexchange. Can digital currency will be adoptedas the future medium of exchange? Well, onlytime can prove.

Everyone will be familiar with the word Ledgeror General Ledger, which is nothing but a bookfor recording and totaling transactions onaccounts and provide the balance for eachaccount. These ledger books were kept safelyat each branch and all transactions of thebranches customer are manually entered andtailed by the branch staff. Later, ledger booksgot replaced by computer f iles, where therecords are maintained by specializedaccounting software. But a customer from abank’s branch can do transactions with thesame branch only as the account details areprimarily kept at the home branch. Astechnology developed, banks upgraded to corebanking software with centralized ledgermaintained at banks data center using corebanking applications like Finacle. With corebanking in place, customers can bank with anybranch of the bank with ease and also withATMs and digital products like internet andmobile banking customer can do transactionsround the clock.

With the advances in technology, ledgers arealso getting revolutionized. In a view to providea public, neutral and always available ledgerwith immunity to tampering, a new DistributedLedger was introduced. A distributed ledger canbe described as a ledger of any transactions orcontracts maintained in decentralized formacross different locations and people,eliminating the need of a central authority tokeep a check against manipulation. All theinformation on it is securely and accuratelystored using cryptography and can be accessedusing keys and cryptographic signatures. Oncethe information is stored, it becomes animmutable database and is governed by therules of the network. While centralized ledgersare prone to cyber-attack, distributed ledgersare inherently harder to attack because all thedistributed copies need to be attackedsimultaneously for an attack to be successful.Further, these records are resistant to maliciouschanges by a single party.

A distributed ledger is usually achieved by usingpeer-to-peer network with consensusalgorithms to ensure replication of transactionsacross all the copies across the network.Distributed ledger technology has greatpotential to revolutionize the way governments,banks, institutions, and corporate work. It canhelp governments in tax collection, issuance

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power and interested parties or “miners” tovalidate and confirm transactions, using astructured process for adding transactionsrecords to the blockchain in return for rewardsin form of Bitcoins. The use of the blockchainfor bitcoin made it the first digital currency tosolve the double spending problem withoutrequiring a trusted administrator.

In the blockchain, bitcoins are registered to abitcoin addresses. Bitcoin address is anidentifier of 26-35 alphanumeric characters,beginning with the number 1 or 3, thatrepresents a possible destination for a bitcoinpayment. Addresses can be generated at no costby any user of Bitcoin. Bitcoin addressessentially is a public key (as in cryptography)with corresponding pair of private key isavailable only to the owner of the bitcoinaddress. These addresses are stored either inbitcoin wallets or in physical tokens just like aUSB thumb drive. To be able to spend thebitcoins, the owner must digitally sign thetransaction using his private key. The networkverifies the signature using the public key andvalidates the transaction which will get addedto the blockchain.

A blockchain consists of two kinds of records:transactions and blocks. Blocks hold batchesof valid transactions that are encrypted into ahash value and encoded into a tree likestructure. Each block includes the cryptographichash of the prior block in the blockchain usingthe SHA-256 hashing algorithm, which links itto the previous block, thus giving the blockchainits name. This process of validating thetransactions and encoding in to the block iscalled Mining, which is the record-keepingservice done through the use of computerprocessing power. Miners keep the blockchainconsistent, complete, and unalterable byrepeatedly verifying and collecting newlybroadcast transactions into a new group oftransactions as a block. This iterative processconfirms the integrity of the previous block, allthe way back to the original genesis block. Inorder to be accepted by the rest of the network,a new block must produce a proof-of-work. Theproof-of-work is a cryptographic task thatrequires miners to find a number called a nonce,such that when the block content is hashedalong with the nonce, the result is numericallysmaller than the network’s difficulty target. Thisproof is easy for any node in the network to

verify, but extremely time-consuming togenerate, as for a secure cryptographic hash,miners must try many different nonce values(usually the sequence of values is 0, 1, 2, 3, ...)before meeting the difficulty target.

Bitcoin, being a virtual currency, have no officialconnection to the real economy. The bitcoin priceor the value of the virtual currency is arrivedfrom demand and supply of the bitcoin availablein the market. Bitcoins are traded as assets indifferent virtual currency exchanges in the world.Bitcoins can be traded for almost all the currencyin virtual currency exchanges, which makes it apossible way of international transfers .The priceof bitcoin is very volatile which prevents thecommon man to invest and trade. This is partlydue to liquidity, which is the amount of bitcointhat is flowing through the market at any giventime.

Fun & Frolic

Compliance Department at Kanthalloor-Munnar

Branch Thrissur North at Munnar Team RO Coimbatore at Fern Hill Palace, Nilgiris.

‘ Personnel to Personal’ at Indriya Sands, Kuzhippilly

19

Jithin ThomasClerk

Chelakkara

Rona JohnsonClerk

Elapully

Arundinesh MProb. Officer

Nagapattinam

Nikhil K. MadhuAsst. Manager

Thiruvalla

Soumya V HClerk

Trivandrum Chalai

Helga SimonClerk

Valancherry

Dinesh Ranganathan CNAsst. Manager

Chennai Nungambakkam

Risvin ShamshadAsst. Manager

CBE Gandhipuram

Sibin JacobAsst. Manager

Attingal

Jithin ThomasSenior Manager

Coonoor

Megha KrishnankuttyAsst Manager

Mumbai NarimanPoint

Jibin JoseClerk

Kozhencherry

Rajdeep ChakrabortyClerk

Kolkata Burra Bazar

Prashanth M.A.ManagerPakalkuri

Nikhil K PAsst Manager

T Subbulapuram

Chelsy JoseClerk

Kasargode

Arjun Raj KAsst Manager

Kozhikode Mavoor Rd.

Antony GeorgeAsst Manager

Ba’lore Indira Nagar

Deepika JoshiClerk

Panchkula

Indira M.D.Manager

Chandigarh

Shivani GuptaClerk

Patpargunj

Sandhya BhonsleAsst. Manager

Ba’lore Electronic City

Sruthi NarayanAsst ManagerPeroorkada

Purwesh PracheeManager

Jamshedpur

Vinay Kumar ChauhanManagerShimla

GitanjaliClerk

Shimla

Anusha KurianAsst ManagerManathavady

Archana NClerk

Ba’lore Cox Town

Anusuri SatyaveniClerk

Manchirevula

Anna Lovely M XClerk

Annojiguda

Ronald FernandezSenior Manager

Compliance Dept.

Prince Mathew T.J.Manager

IT Operations Dept.

CAIIB

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AchievementsIIBF Exam – Prize Winner2016-17

Mr. Biju E PunnachalilAsst. Gen. Manager

Integrated Risk Mgmt. DeptSecured First – HighestMarks in Subject CentralBanking –

Ms. Suma V GeorgeSr. Manager

Chalakudy BranchSecured First – HighestAggregate in Dip. In Comm.Derv. Banker

Mr. Nanda Kumar CManager

Staff Training CollegeSecured First – Highest Marksin Subject Credit Management(Certified Credit Officer)

Promotion

Mr. Paul V.L.Promoted as Senior General Manager (Admin)

JAIIB

Sujithkumar SClerk

Bhavani

Epson ThomasClerk

Ernakulam Market Rd.

Mrithul JoyClerk

Ernakulam MG Rd

Irine ThomasClerk

Kandassankadavu

Mohit Kumar MihariaPro. Manager (CA)

Chennai G T

Vignesh RClerk

Madurai

Leo Dalttany LClerk

Nagercoil

Namboodiri Shreena K.Clerk,

Ponnani

Anju AntoClerk

Ponnani

Maria KallukaranClerk

Thrissur Main

Ajmal BasheerClerk

Karuvatta

Mintu JoseClerk

Kanjirappally

Preema M JoseClerk

Theodical

Divya Lekshmi D.Asst Manager

Trivandrum Main

Albin JosephClerkIdukki

Sathi P.Assistant Manager

Kannur

Vandana P. D/o Mr.Vinayachandran P. ,Palakkad Main Branch, hassecured full marks (1200/1200) in Plus Two BoardExam Kerala 2017 (Sciencegroup).

Nandana Sony D/o Mr. Sony A.,Dy. General Manager qualifiedNTS Scholarship in National Tal-ent Search Exam (NTSE) in Std,X conducted by NCERT. Nowstudying in XIth at Bhavan’s VidyaMandir, Elamakkara.

Mr. Peter A.D.Dy. Gen. Manager

Staff Training College

Mr. George JosephChief Manager

Secretarial Dept

Mr. Paul ThaliathDy. Gen. Manager

Credit Department

Mr. Francy Jos E.Asst. Gen. Manager

Secretarial Dept

Associate Members - Indian Institute of Banking & Finance

Children’s Accomplishment

Haris M.Asst. ManagerPerinthalmanna

Pencil Drawing

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Achievements

Master Pessoa Mathews Sibi,S/o Mr. P. M. Sibi, Dy. GeneralManager who became the'Under-10 kiddies individualchampion' winning Silver in100 meter race, 50 meter raceand 100 X 4 meter relay in the'All Kerala CMI School AthleticMeet'.

Branch Name CHITTUR Br. Code 0016Date of Opening 20-12-1963No. of ATM ONSITE-1Specialty of the Location Chittur is a town in Palakkad district of Kerala. Agriculture

is the main occupation of the people. Music is the part ofthe life style of people.’ Kongan Pada’is the maincelebration here. There is plenty of weavers and spinning.

Nearest Railway Station Palakkad 16 kmNearest Airport Coimbatore International Airport 65 kmNearest Bus Station Chittur 1 kmLocation of ATM Main Road, Devangapuram, Chittur

Branch Name CHAVAKKAD MAIN Br. Code 0017Date of Opening 14-11-1964No. of ATM 3Specialty of the Location Chavakkad is an NRI area. It is an important trading centre

for f ish and is close to Munakkakadavu HarbourChavakkad is also famous for its beaches and Azhimokam

Nearest Railway Station Guruvayoor 4 kmNearest Airport Nedumbassery 78 kmNearest Bus Station Chavakkad 200 mtrLocation of ATM H S Centre, EMKE Supermarket

T T Devassy Jewellery

Branch Name KOCHI- MATTANCHERRY Br. Code 0018Date of Opening 05-08-1932No. of ATM 2Specialty of the Location Mattancherry is the erstwhile tradehub. The area is

surrounded by backwater of Arabian sea and lots of touristsvisits this place.

Nearest Railway Station Ernakulam –South railway station 9.6 kmNearest Airport Kochi- Nedumbassery 41 kmNearest Bus Station Bus stand -Cochin 2 kmLocation of ATM Koovapadam, Cochin

Branch Name COIMBATORE RAJA STREET Br. Code 0019Date of Opening 04-11-1941No. of ATM 3Specialty of the Location Market AreaNearest Railway Station Coimbatore Railway Station 2 kmNearest Airport Coimbatore International Airport 15 kmNearest Bus Station Ukkadam 1 kmLocation of ATM 1 Onsite & 2 Offsite (Edayar Street and Ukkadam)

Know your Branch & Know your BanK

Branch Name KODUNGALLUR Br. Code 0020Date of Opening 13-04-1971No. of ATM 2Specialty of the Location Near to Famous Kodungallur Bhagavathy Temple,

Cheraman Juma Mazjid and Azhikode BeachNearest Railway Station Irinjalakuda 15 kmNearest Airport Kochi- Nedumbassery 35 kmNearest Bus Station Kodungallur 200 mtsLocation of ATM 1 Onsite - Ground Floor, Pavizham Tower

2 Offsite Near Mugal Mall, North Nada, Kodungallur

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Branch Name ELAPULLY Br. Code 0022Date of Opening 14-10-1970No. of ATM Onsite 1Specialty of the Location Special food: Ramassery idlyNearest Railway Station Kanjikode Railway Stattion 10 kmNearest Airport Coimbatore 60 kmNearest Bus Statione) Palakkad 13 kmLocation of ATM Elapully Para Junction

Branch Name ERODE Br. Code 0023Date of Opening 31.03.1965No. of ATM 1 OnsiteSpecialty of the Location Erode is famous for Power loom textile Products,

Handloom Products and Readymade garments, thereforeit is known as “Tex valley of India “Erode is also knownas Turmeric City as it is an important market centre forTurmeric.

Nearest Railway Station Erode - 1 kmNearest Airport Coimbatore – 90 KmsNearest Bus Station Erode - 2 KmsLocation of ATM Onsite

Branch Name ERNAKULAM MARKET ROAD Br. Code 0024Date of Opening 10.12.1937No. of ATM 3Specialty of the Location Located in the prime area of Commercial Capital of Kerala.Nearest Railway Station Ernakulam Town 2 km & Erankulam South 2 kmNearest Airport Nedumbassery 41 kmNearest Bus Station KSRTC Ernakulam 2 kmLocation of ATM Onsite: 1

Offsite: St. Teresas College&GCDA Complex

Know your Branch & Know your BanKBranch Name DINDIGUL Br. Code 0021Date of Opening 11.05.1966No. of ATM 2Specialty of the Location Dindigul has a number of historical monuments, the

Rock-Fort being the most prominent. Industries includelock making, leather, Textile spinning etc. ThalappakkattiBiriyani is the famous food in Dindigul.

Nearest Railway Station Dindigul Railway Station 2 kmNearest Airport Madurai 88 kmNearest Bus Station Dindigul 200 mtrsLocation of ATM Onsite - Within Branch premises

Offsite- St Mary’s Building 1 km

Branch Name ERNAKULAM M G ROAD Br. Code 0025Date of Opening 13.05.1964No. of ATM 3Specialty of the Location M G Road is the commercial high street with its array of

famous Textile shops, Restaurants, Jewellery shops, it isthe shopper’s paradise of Kerala. M G road is also wellknown for shopping complexes and multiplex theaters.

Nearest Railway Station Ernakulam South Railway Station 1.5 kmNearest Airport Nedumbassery Airport 40 kmNearest Bus Station KSRTC Bus Stand, Ernakulam 1.5 kmLocation of ATM Onsite-1, Off-site- 1. IOC Pump, M G Road, Ravipuram

2. Near Hotel Yuvarani Residency, M G Rd

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Branch Name ERUMAPETTY Br. Code 0026Date of Opening 24-02-1971No. of ATM 2Specialty of the Location The branch is near to Sacred Heart Forane Church

Erumapetty. In our location there is mixed population.Both NRI, Small local business & Agriculture is here

Nearest Railway Station Wadakanchery 20 kmNearest Airport Nedumbassery 75 kmNearest Bus Station Erumapetty, 20 mtrLocation of ATM Beside the branch

Branch Name IRINJALAKUDA Br. Code 0028Date of Opening 03-07-1946No. of ATM 2Specialty of the Location Koodalmanikyam Temple which is the only Lord Bharatha

Temple in Kerala and the St. Thomas Cathedral, famousfor its “Ambu Perunal” are situated in Irinjalakuda.

Nearest Railway Station Irinjalakuda, 8 kmNearest Airport Nedumbassery 38 kmNearest Bus Station Irinjalakuda 1 kmLocation of ATM 1. Blaze Court, Opp. Boys High SchoolMain Road

2. Abhiman Towers Cathedral Jn, Chanthakunnu

Branch Name KANCHIPURAM Br. Code 0029Date of Opening 26-10-1966No. of ATM 4 ATMSpecialty of the Location : Known as the Temple city of Tamilnadu and is famous

for kanchipuram silk sarees. Other major occupation ofkanchipuram is Agriculture and Tourism. B Kovil idly isone of the most popular & delecious recipie that isoriginated from the temple’s madapalli.

Nearest Railway Station Kanchipuram 4 kmNearest Airport Chennai International Airport 65 kmNearest Bus Station Kanchipuram1 kmLocation of ATM 1-Onsite 2 & 3 – Town Bus Stand

4- Near to Sankaramutt

Branch Name KANDASSANKADAVU Br. Code 0030Date of Opening 22-12-1965No. of ATM 1Specialty of the Location Residential and Buisness Area. Near Kanoli Canal. Every

year boat race is conducted during Onam.Nearest Railway Station Thrissur Railway Station 17 kmNearest Airport Nedumbassery, 50 kmNearest Bus Station Kanjany, 2 kmLocation of ATM Attached to bank premises

Know your Branch & Know your BanK

Branch Name GOBICHETTIPALAYAM Br. Code 0027Date of Opening 16.05.1955No. of ATM 1Specialty of the Location Small local business & AgricultureNearest Railway Station Erode, 37 kmNearest Airport Coimbatore, 75 kmNearest Bus Station Gobichettipalayam 500 mtrLocation of ATM Beside the branch

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Branch Name KANJANY Br. Code 0031Date of Opening 27-07-1964No. of ATM 1Specialty of the Location A Houseboat facility available near Manalur company

which attract tourists. The famous Avangadu temple isonly 4 km away from the branch.

Nearest Railway Station Thrissur, 15 kmNearest Airport Cochin International Airport,Nedumbassery 63 kmNearest Bus Station Kanjany, 20 mtrLocation of ATM Adjacent to the branch

Branch Name KANJIRAMATTOM Br. Code 0032Date of Opening 1964No. of ATM 1 (Onsite)Specialty of the Location Once known as “ Millunkal” as there were huge mills located

here in ancient times. Poothotta Backwaters, St. IgnatiusJacobite Church - Built on 1879 by Mor Dionysius JosephPulikottil & The Mosque is built in memory of Saint SheikhFariduddin.

Nearest Railway Station Kanjiramattom 2 kmNearest Airport Cochin International Airport 48 kmNearest Bus Station Tripunithura 14 kmLocation of ATM Adjacent to the branch

Branch Name KATTOOR Br. Code 0033Date of Opening 20/12/1965No. of ATM 1-Onsite ATMSpecialty of the Location Birth House of St.Euphrasia located near to our Branch.

Nearest Towns are Irinjalakuda, Triprayar, Edamuttam,Moonnupeedika.

Nearest Railway Station (Distance) Kallettumkara 16 kmNearest Airport (Distance) Cochin International Airport 50 kmNearest Bus Station (Distance) Kattoor 10 mtrLocation of ATM Onsite, facing Irinjalakuda- Kattoor Main Road

Branch Name KINATTUKADAVU Br. Code 0034Date of Opening 20-12-1963No. of ATM Onsite - 1Specialty of the Location The main occupation of people in Kinattukadavu is

agriculture. Famous Murugan temple in a hill topopposite to the branch.

Nearest Railway Station Coimbatore Junction – 21 kmNearest Airport Coimbatore International Airport-31 kmNearest Bus Station Ukkadam Bus stand-20 kmsLocation of ATM Beside branch

Branch Name KODAKARA Br. Code 0035Date of Opening 20.02.1964No. of ATM 2Specialty of the Location Areswaram Temple is located very near. There is a narrow

opening in the rocks near the temple. One has to gosqueezing his body between the rocks and to reach the otherend is believed to be Punarjani or Rebirth.

Nearest Railway Station Irinjalakuda Railway Station 7 kmNearest Airport Nedumbassery Airport 25 kmNearest Bus Station Kodakara 300 mtrLocation of ATM 1- Inside Sahrdaya Engineering College

2- Near Shanthi Hospital, Kodakara

Know your Branch & Know your BanK

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Wedding Bells

Dr. Kalyani Prem, D/o S. Premkumar, Chief Manager, R.O.Trivandrum & Ajithkumar V

James Mathew Branch. Murickassery &Anumol Joseph

Sarath Prakash (Asst. Manager, ChelakkaraBr. & Arya Parvathy

Dijin James, Asst. Manager, HOPersonnel Dept. & Aida Jos

Shyam Shishir, Asst. Manager RTGS Cell, TBD Ernakulam& Athira Lal

Ashitha P., Asst.Manager, R.O Pune & Sudheesh P.

Sabeena M., Clerk, Kozhikode Main &Sayooj T.

Karthik Reddy & Sai Sri Latha, Manager,Br Tirupathi

Stella Rani & Praneeth Navel Roche, Clerk, Br. Alwal

Krishnam Raju & Nihaika, Manager Br.Banjarahills

Jishnu P, Asst Manager, Mallassery Br. &Anjali S. , Asst. Manager, Athikayam Br.

Roniya Babu, Prob Clerk, Kozhikode Main& Tomstoy

Jithin James & Anna Tony, D/o Alice Pappu, SeniorManager, Personnel Department.

Jeffie John Parackal, S/o John Thomas,Senior Gen. Manager - BDD & Dr. Ansu.

Greeshma Babu, Clerk, Br. Irinjalakkuda& Sooraj Varghese

CLICKZ !!!

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Chathiath Walkway, ErnakulamDijin James, Asst ManagerHO Personnel Department

Chandratal Lake (Himachal Pradesh)Anoop Periwa, Asst Manager

Park Street Br., Kolkata

Illikkal Kallu, KottayamAnandu S, Br. Guruvayur