HCLTech successfully rolled out a global mutual fund investment platform for a large global bank with a significant presence in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. This cloud-native application is designed to cater to both retail and professional investors across eight markets. It empowers users with features like cross-currency investments, one-click multi-cart selection for multiple funds and wealth lending.
The Challenge
Streamline investment processes across multiple regions
Our client is the wealth and private banking division of a leading global bank. They faced the challenge of transforming their existing online mutual fund/unit trust platform to better serve a diverse client base spread across multiple regions and enable:
- Improved customer experience
- Personalized investment options
- Increased investment opportunities
The Objective
Create a seamless and scalable investment experience
HCLTech aimed to develop a robust and scalable platform that addressed the client's challenges. The key objectives were to:
- Migrate the platform to a cloud-native architecture for agility and global reach
- Deliver a personalized experience for both retail and professional investors
- Facilitate seamless cross-currency investments and wealth lending functionalities
- Simplify onboarding processes for new users
- Ensure regulatory compliance across all markets
The Solution
Innovative cloud-native transformation with microservices architecture
HCLTech undertook the transformation of the bank's mutual fund investment platform by reengineering it into a microservices-based cloud-native application. The solution included:
- Mutual Fund Subscriptions: Enabled both lump-sum and smart savings plan subscriptions through mobile and web applications, allowing customers to invest directly with ease
- Simplified the onboarding process: By eliminating paperwork, enabled new users to create investment accounts without visiting a branch and improved overall usability with features like one-click multi-cart selection
- Wealth Lending: Introduced a credit facility for investing in mutual funds, allowing customers to leverage their existing funds for higher investment potential
- Straight Through Processing: Automated the subscription process for smart savings plans, eliminating manual steps in several markets
- Regulatory Compliance: Ensured compliance with local regulations, providing a secure and legally compliant platform for investments
- Professional Investor Journeys: Created specialized user journeys tailored for professional investors, offering a differentiated experience from retail investors
- Cross-Currency Investments: The platform supports eight different currencies, expanding investment opportunities
Technical initiatives:
- Transitioned from a monolithic architecture to a microservices-based system, where each service handles specific tasks such as regulatory compliance and order processing
- Migrated the application from on-premises infrastructure to the cloud, enhancing scalability, reliability and disaster recovery
- Utilized a common code base across all markets to expedite the introduction of new features and capabilities
The Impact
Delivered superior customer experiences, cost efficiency and operational excellence
The new platform delivered significant benefits for the client:
- Improved Response Time: Achieved a 2x improvement in response time, enhancing customer satisfaction
- Increased Customer Footprint: Expanded the platform's user base due to its improved functionality and user experience
- Reduced Operational Costs: Lowered Opex costs by approximately 50% using a single code base across markets
- Decreased Downtime: Reduced application downtime by 90% thanks to the microservices architecture, which allows for quick restoration and updates
- Higher Fund Allocation: Experienced a 20% increase in fund allocation and average order value from investors, driven by the new cross-currency and wealth lending features
Future Plans
- Cloud Migration for Additional Markets: Expand the platform to African market , and additional Southeast Asian markets from on-premise to the cloud
- Consolidated Portfolio View: Develop a comprehensive portfolio view for customers to track their investments across various funds
- Automated Investments: Introduce BOTS and smart forms to simplify and automate the investment process
- Enhanced Security: Implement increased security controls within the cloud environment to ensure data protection and compliance
Recognition
- HCLTech's work on this project was recognized at the Digital CX Awards 2024, where we received the award for Best Digital CX Partner – Wealth Management/Private Banking
