FUTURE OF BRICK AND MORTAR BANKING IN KERALA: RELEVANCE OF BRANCH BANKING IN THE DIGITAL ERA

While ‘Brick and Mortar Banking' – the banking business done through physical branches – was the only service delivery channel for banking services in the past, today there are numerous service delivery channels available. This is basically because of the impact of fast advances in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) is all facets of human life, including banking. ICT brings in revolutionary changes in commercial banking and its adoption is an imperative for survival rather than just an option. Customer Relationship Management (CRM), for instance, has already given way to Electronic CRM (e-CRM). Considering the Old Private sector Banks (OPBs) based in Kerala, this paper makes a critical study of the relevance of the traditional brick and mortar banking in the current ICT era that is characterized by e-CRM and other modern ICT-based products and services