Plastic cards to remain in vogue despite customers shifting to digital transactions: Ramanathan RV

financialexpress.com:

Digital will be a convenience but plastic will remain in vogue albeit the drop in their usage, says Ramanathan RV, CEO & Co-founder, Hyperface.

In an exclusive interview with Sanjeev Sinha, Mr Ramanathan gives his views on embedded finance, the relationship between banks and fintechs, and whether digital solutions will truly replace the emotional connection with a credit card. Excerpts:

Banks are competing to embed financial services into everyday apps. But how can it be made seamless and secure without sacrificing the user experience?

Banks are increasingly embedding financial services into everyday apps, achieving seamlessness and security without compromising the user experience. Preserving data privacy is sacrosanct for the sustainable growth of embedded finance. Banks must continue to invest in the scalability and extensibility of their systems while fintechs have to accept end-to-end encryption of data as a reality. When the ecosystem operates within these essential guardrails, then innovation will thrive.

Also Read: How to make the most of your cashback credit cards

How can credit card as a service elevate instant rewards to create authentically personalized experiences, ensuring not only user engagement but also fostering unwavering loyalty?

One of the key pillars of BaaS (and by extension CCaaS) is delivering realtime experiences to customers. This was a key reason for the success of third party PSPs (Payment System Provider) in UPI. Realtime transactions & rewards is an enabler of user trust and this is acutely needed for financial institutions that are growing rapidly among users. A credit card gives rewards to customers for every transaction. And ensuring that the reward is being given is akin to