ICICI Bank launches open-for-all digital lending platform for MSMEs

Anyone can avail themselves of the benefits of ICICI Bank’s digital solutions by simply downloading the new version of the InstaBIZ app, a superapp for businesses, from Google Play Store or Apple App Store, or at the Bank’s Corporate Internet Banking (CIB) platform, the bank said in a statement.

The bank’s SME portfolio stood at Rs 404.50 billion as of the March quarter, growing by 33.6 percent year-on-year and 11.3 percent sequentially. Bagchi said that the overall MSME portfolio was over Rs 52,000 crore, and also growing at 35-45 percent annually. “Don’t see why growth should slow down from these levels,” he added.

“We have found out from our research that MSMEs understand the benefits that technology brings in. They are keen to adopt digital solutions to simplify their way of doing business, so that they can focus more on growth. MSMEs also need a holistic platform which meets all their requirements. Further, we believe that the benefits of our products and services should not be restricted only to our customers; those who bank with others should also have the choice to experience them,” said Anup Bagchi.

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MSMEs can avail themselves of a host of services from the Bank’s digital ecosystem by logging in as a ‘Guest’ in the new version of InstaBIZ. The most important in the list of these services is sanction of instant and paperless overdraft facility up to Rs 25 lakh -- called ‘InstaOD Plus’, ICICI Bank said in a statement.

“Customers of ICICI Bank can activate the OD into their current account instantly while customers of other banks can do so after opening of a current account with the Bank digitally through Video KYC,” said ICICI Bank.

ICICI Bank has tied up with various partners for this offering, including India Filings (for business compliances and registrations), IndiaMART (listing of business), Airtel (connectivity and business communications), ClearTax (tax filing and advisory), Zoho Books (accounting solutions), Global Linker (business networking and digital store management), Sherlock.ai (digital marketing and data analytics).

MSMEs, both customers and non-customers of the Bank, can also access the Bank’s digital platform, Trade Emerge, for trade services like letter of credit, bank guarantee, trade credit, trade transactions and many others.

Additionally through InstaBIZ, merchants, retailers and professionals like doctors and lawyers etc can instantly accept payments through UPI and cards. They can generate QR codes and even digitally apply for Point of Sale (POS) devices. They can also avail themselves of value-added services like instant settlement of payments, transform their shops into an online store in just 30 minutes, and apply for a voice-messaging device that confirms the receipt of the payments.

In December of 2020, ICICI Bank had similarly opened its mobile application for retail customers for use by other banks' customers using the UPI platform, hoping to benefit from new customer leads and ultimately deposits in the long run. The bank said it had since seen over 6.3 million activations from non-ICICI Bank customers on its mobile app, iMobile Pay. Of these, about 2 lakh non-ICICI Bank customers converted to ICICI Bank customers.