Success Story

Daffodil helps ISIC association to build a digital wallet for their student application

A concept by the non-profit organization – ISIC Association – ISIC card is the only student identity proof widely accepted overseas. Founded in 1953, the ISIC card was endorsed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1968. The card doesn’t come with limitations. Any student over the age of 12, irrespective of nationality, race, or gender is eligible to purchase the card. The cardholder gets access to 150,000 lifestyle and educational products, experiences, and services at a discounted rate world over. ISIC partners simplify the needs of students while delighting them no end with their offerings ranging from bookstores, study portals, shopping, eateries, transport, travel, and more.

Services Used:

Fintech Solutions UI/UX Design

The Problem

With the smartphone firmly cemented as a fixture of daily life, tech companies seek to capitalize on the smartphone’s newest role: the digital wallet. Mobile payment has become ubiquitous, largely due to the inclusion of near-field communication technology in smartphones.

Following the trend, ISIC wanted to integrate a debit card wallet into its application to ensure a smooth experience for its students. However, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) – the regulator of the Indian banking system mandates ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’ verification. KYC verification is required to establish the identity of the customer.

Implementing KYC and compliance with the ever-changing RBI guidelines was the key challenge in integrating the wallet into the application. Hence, ISIC was on the lookout for a technology partner who could not only help them integrate an e-wallet into their application but also automate the entire KYC process with adherence to the guidelines.

Develop an e-wallet and integrate it with their application and incorporate features for students that focused on helping them manage their spending, including notifications for all transactions, instant rewards redemption options, and easy access to balance and transaction history etc.
Automate the entire process of KYC including updating of documents in the application, encryption, and document approval, while adhering to all the RBI guidelines.
Develop an admin panel for the KYC module where the Admin users can monitor & perform multiple operations from the backend such as view partners, generate notifications, answer user queries, etc.

The Solution

Daffodil’s team started with product discovery to understand the technical requirements of ISIC to figure out the optimal tech stack. Our UX experts applied design thinking for the optimal customer experience with an impactful user interface for the app. Daffodil experts built the backend infrastructure using Symfony & PostgreSQL PHP web application framework. Two native apps for both Android and iOS were developed as the front end of the application.

A high-level verification was done via Date of Birth (DOB) and other relevant documents uploaded in the system, followed by manual verification by the admin user. However, actual KYC for a debit card is carried by the bank authorities outside the system. The e-wallet built by team Daffodil used a few third-party integrations such as:

Card & Wallet: MatchMove was integrated to allow users to view, use virtual and physical cards for online transactions. It also helps manage the transactional limits.

ISIC Core System: Embedded ISIC core system for user management, search discounts, and redemption (both online and offline).

Forex: Zenith was integrated that allowed users can check the conversion rate in real-time for any foreign currency. They can receive bank account details to submit the amount and get the foreign currency.

Insurance: Integration with Allianz allowed users to avail online insurance for their travel. They can benefit from the real-time insurance policy available post the completion of payment.

The Impact

ISIC was able to launch and market the product in a timely manner as Daffodil ensured that the deliverables were provided on time while maintaining the utmost quality. Within a few months of its launch, the application has received an amazing response from students as well as the partners as it allowed students to pay through their wallets instead of debit cards, resulting in a substantial increase in transactions.