Kamaljeet Rastogi, Global Head, BD, Mobile Financial Solutions, Mahindra Comviva
Kamaljeet Rastogi, global head, business development (BD), mobile financing solutions, Mahindra Comviva, joined the company in 2014, when it was gearing up to offer telecom grade solutions for the banking sector, competing directly with operators and aggregators in the digital payments space. He has been instrumental in expanding Comviva’s customer base in the banking sector. His rich background and experience of close to two decades in managing IT services for the banking industry came in handy for this role.
Rastogi has spent a large part of his career in the financial sector and has worked with Citibank, ABN-Amro Bank and FINO (now known as Fino Payments Bank). “I joined FINO in 2008 and this has been my most memorable stint so far. We were serving the masses and the experience of creating a solution for people who have no prior experience of banking is very satisfying,” he says. He joined Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited in 2011 as one of its first employees in the payments strategy team and gave the foundational impetus to Jio Payments Bank.
According to him, the digital banking space offers huge opportunities. “Today, there are many authentication technologies available which can make the payment experience much simpler than typing passwords and receiving one-time passwords. This presents a big opportunity. However, one of the biggest challenges is competition from companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook, which are neither telecom companies nor banking enterprises but are disrupting the digital banking set-up. These companies can leverage new technologies better, have substantial customer reach and superior ability to enhance the use experience.” He believes that an accelerated policy push and proper channelisation of customer experience will enable the digital payments market to go mainstream in the next five years. “The space will witness a sizeable growth opportunity with demand arising mainly from the youth,”
Rastogi describes his management style as analytical. “Whenever an opportunity or a problem comes my way, I first analyse it, try to obtain as many data points as possible and then work on it.” He likes to work in small teams as it ensures higher productivity. Rastogi obtained a B.Tech. from IIT Delhi and an MBA from the National University of Singapore.
His family comprises his wife, who is a teacher, and their daughter, who is pursuing medicine. During his spare time, he likes to travel and work out in a gym.
