THE DIGITALISATION DILEMMA: CAN ‘BOB WORLD’ BOUNCE BACK?

In October 2023, Reserve Bank of India directed Bank of Baroda to suspend ‘with immediate effect’ the onboarding of customers on its mobile app 'Bob World' (The Economic Times, 2023a). This move sent shock waves across the industry: Bank of Baroda was not only a leading public sector bank but also a poster child for digitalisation drives in the Indian retail banking industry. Following RBI's action, the share price of Bank of Baroda crashed by 3.31% and continued its slump down throughout the week.