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Although the bank saw a 19-fold increase from its active regional mobile user base, host-to-host connectivity has gradually become the alternative to traditional online banking portals (while the former is increasingly being used for basic activities like checking balances or low-volume payments).

Without logging in, corporates can directly connect their relevant internal systems with Citi, typically to conduct scheduled activities often involving larger sums of funds. The channel currently represents over half of all corporate activities at Citi. 

Survival of the Targetted

Most interestingly, the bank seeing increasing demand for API connectivity – the channel’s client base in the region doubled this quarter – as an increasing number of businesses demand real-time instant processing such as immediate payments for ride-hailing apps.

Despite Citi's multi-pronged approach and observed demand from a diverse set of clients, Jain stresses that any attempt to be the provider of choice for everyone will not end well, highlighting this point especially from the perspective of fintechs who tend to be strong specialists but lack generalist capabilities and a comprehensive suite of solutions like universal banks.

Meeting Specific Needs

«At Citi, we are not the bank for every single client segment and we don’t want to be everything for everyone. And to be honest, I think this applies to many of our competitors, be it banks or fintechs,» Jain said.

«In fact, I can say for sure if your strategy is neither here nor there, in the next 10 years, it will be impossible to remain competitive. You have to be very clear about which client segment you want to focus on and you have to focus comprehensively on meeting their specific needs.»