Bob World: A Digital Platform Fraud

Abstract

This case narrates how aggressive performance targets and poor insights in an Indian bank created conditions for misconduct, ultimately culminating in a large-scale fraud. Bank of Baroda, one of the largest public sector banks in India, had to face dire consequences when, to meet enrolment goals for the bank’s digital app, bob World, its officials resorted to unethical practices, such as linking the mobile numbers of staff and their family members’ mobile numbers to customers’ accounts. Working-class customers, who had limited literacy and access to smartphones, were also targeted. This violated the bank’s policy of attaching a maximum of eight accounts to a single mobile number. This rendered thousands of accounts at risk, leading to regulatory consequences imposed by the Reserve Bank of India and the suspension of several officials, including those from the senior management cadre. Through the use of this case, the readers will be enabled to: (a) analyse how performance pressures can encourage misconduct, (b) evaluate the role of ethics and accountability in service delivery and (c) reflect on mechanisms that organizations and regulators can adopt to prevent similar lapses.