When the requirements are met but the client still wants more
Context: A bank needed a video calling and scheduling platform for its relationship managers, connected to its existing CRM, with notifications and support for customers in India and abroad. My job was to build a full working prototype, not mockups.
Why banks need this now
Two shifts made video banking a priority rather than a nice-to-have:
1. Bank calls became one-way.
TRAI now requires banks to make service and transactional calls from the dedicated 1600 number series, so customers can tell a genuine bank call from a fraudulent one. That helps with trust, but these numbers don't take incoming calls. A customer who misses an RM's call can't simply call back. The bank needs a channel where the conversation is scheduled and two-way.
2. Banks are competing for NRI customers.
The RBI's special FCNR(B) deposit window in 2026 let banks offer NRIs higher rates on foreign currency deposits, and lenders began engaging more actively with NRI customers across key overseas markets. Those customers are in different time zones and countries, often unable to visit a branch, and expensive to reach by international phone call. A scheduled video call with their RM fits their situation far better. socialnews
Regulation made outbound calls more trustworthy but harder to call back. NRI demand made distance the main obstacle. Video banking addresses both.
What I did
- Built the prototype end to end with Claude Code.
- Covered every requirement in the brief.
- Demoed it live to stakeholders as a working product rather than a slide walkthrough.
What happened
The prototype met their needs as written in the brief. The client still wasn't satisfied. They wanted a "cherry on top": something beyond the brief, and in some cases beyond what current technology can do.
Meeting the requirements isn't the same as meeting the expectation. A brief records what a client can put into words, not what they imagine.
What I'm thinking about
- Was the gap in the brief or in the moment? A working prototype makes the possibilities feel real, so the client starts imagining further. That reaction suggests the prototype did its job.
- Separating the impossible from the unfamiliar. Some of what sounds impossible is possible but hasn't been done in banking yet. Finding the one feasible thing in the wish list could be the real cherry.
- Where to draw the line. Chasing features the technology can't yet deliver risks the project. The skill is saying "not yet" in a way that keeps the client excited.
Status: Open. Let's see where it goes.