Big Blue is going big brother, providing technology to India's IndusInd Bank which tracks customers' location and activity and uses the information to push them promotions.
In a first-of-its-kind deployment, IndusInd is using the technology developed by IBM Research in a bid to connect customers with contextual information which can be used to offer personalised, location-based recommendations and offers in real time.
Bank customers who opt in to the service will see their location and activity logged and cross-referenced, meaning that as they conduct daily transactions - such as buying airline tickets or shopping at the mall - they are sent relevant promotions by e-mail and text.
The technology is embedded within the bank's various channels - Internet, ATM, SMS, phone and branch - as part of a wider overhaul of its front office aimed at improving personalisation.
Sumant Kathpalia, head, consumer banking, IndusInd Bank, says: "IBM's new technology helps us understand customers as individuals and prepares us to respond more pervasively to the growing opportunities within the digital, social and mobile marketplace."