‘MFIs need to focus on data privacy, cyber security’

New Delhi State Bank of India (SBI) managing director Alok Kumar Choudhary on Wednesday said there is a need for micro finance institutions (MFIs) to pay attention to data privacy and cyber security as they deal with data of a large number of customers.

Speaking at a conference organised by Sa-Dhan, he said, MFIs should also focus on capacity building to deal with the challenges of the future. “The second thing which is very important is the integration with the evolving regulation particularly when you have data privacy law. The enormous amount of data which has been handled by all the MFIs, this particular aspect (data privacy) requires attention and some kind of action plan needs to be in place,” he said. Financial institutions need to focus on improving ease of transaction through digital means, he said, adding, the need of the customers in the changing time has to be addressed as per their convenience and ease. “For this segment of (bottom of the pyramid) customers, we need to understand what they want and ease with which their desire can be fulfilled,” he said.