India-based ESAF Small Finance Bank (ESAF SFB) has partnered with SugarCRM (Sugar) to enhance its customer relationship management and digital banking experience for its over nine million customers.
This collaboration forms part of ESAF Bank’s StratoNeXt initiative aimed at digital transformation.
Operating 787 branches across 26 Indian states, ESAF SFB is modernising its core systems to improve service delivery and ensure compliance with regulatory changes. SugarCRM will play a central role in this transformation by supporting real-time engagement and personalised service across all customer touchpoints, providing a unified view of customer interactions.
ESAF Small Finance Bank executive director George John said: “At ESAF Bank, our mission is to serve customers with care, precision, and speed – especially in communities where financial access is limited.
“SugarCRM will give our teams a full, real-time view of every customer and every interaction. It’s a critical step toward building a digitally connected, customer-focused bank that’s scalable, compliant, and ready for the future.
“Apart from efficiently catering to customer needs, this will help us strengthen customer experience and optimize our marketing spend.”
The integration of SugarCRM with more than 15 internal systems, including core banking and loan origination, will enable ESAF Bank to handle customer inquiries more efficiently. This integration spans various channels such as branches, websites, call centres, and mobile applications, ensuring faster response times.
SugarCRM’s platform, which aids sales teams in complex industries like manufacturing and distribution, will assist ESAF SFB in managing sales opportunities and enhancing decision-making processes. Globally, companies in over 120 countries are said to utilise SugarCRM’s solutions to maintain consistent sales practices.
A critical component of the implementation is the creation of Customer Information Files (CIFs), which will assign a unique ID to each customer to link all their accounts. This measure is crucial for maintaining data integrity across the bank’s operations. In alignment with Reserve Bank of India regulations, SugarCRM will be hosted locally at ESAF Bank’s data centres to ensure data security compliance.
Sugar chief revenue officer James Frampton said: “Customer experience is a crucial strategic differentiator for banks by making interactions with customers faster and easier and more personalised.
“Sugar will help ESAF Bank bring together data from branches, online banking, mobile apps, and other systems. This will make it easier to resolve issues quickly, tailor service to each customer, and stay compliant with regulations.”
Last month, ESAF SFB appointed Kyndryl to manage its mission-critical technology infrastructure under the StratoNeXt initiative. This engagement involves upgrading enterprise applications and developing a regulatory-compliant infrastructure to enhance agility and innovation.
