ATM, RTGS, NEFT and the National Electronic Clearing Service (NECS) are the most popular among the payment platforms being used in the country, according to the CII-PWC Tech Survey. The survey report titled ‘Connecting the dots: Wiring business, technology and operations’, banks are expected to invest in platforms such as integrated payment hubs which supplement existing CBS and provide a consolidated view across all payment channels. Big data use in payments or unstructured areas like social media, customer care and internal communications will mature, says the study. The study also says banking sector is likely to witness increased use of mobile specific features such as geo location, camera or scanning and voice identification. Banks in the small to medium space will start looking for entire core banking platforms as a service, while more established banks increase cloud adoption in non-core areas such as HR. There is a lot of opportunity in the social media universe to target customers, garner their interest and cater to their specific requirements, the study added. As regards challenges for the sector, the study said banking is subject to frequent modifications in risk and regulatory requirements. A few are currently doing the rounds and it is essential for banks to understand the implications regulations such FACTA and AML on their operations and take the necessary measures to mitigate risk. The study also revealed that 63% of the banks are fully compliant with automated data flow requirements as mandated by the RBI.