Banks need to partner with Fintech firms: Axis Bank CEO

Amitabh Chaudhry said collaboration between banks and fintech startups in a “regulation-compliant” manner will benefit both parties

He also said that Axis Bank is currently running “around 15 experiments” with AI and machine learning to personalize its app for users.

His comments came on the same day that Prime Minister Modi praised the fintech ecosystem, saying UPI is a perfect example of fintech success in India

Axis Bank Managing Director (MD) and CEO Amitabh Chaudhry on Friday (August 30) said banks will miss out on opportunities if they do not partner with fintech start-ups.

“They (fintech platforms) are coming up with technologies, products, services, neighborhoods that can make your ecosystem, your customer interactions much more fruitful, powerful. And it will be a loss for us if we don’t partner with them… In many cases, we realized that we don’t have enough resources and time to do that, so fintechs are helping us get there,” Chaudhry said.

He made these comments while speaking with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) Chief Operating Officer (COO) Praveena Rai at the Global Fintech Festival 2024 in Mumbai.

Chaudhry also said that collaboration between banks and fintech startups in a “regulatory compliant manner” will bring significant benefits to both parties.

“Fintechs make your ecosystem powerful. Both sides can benefit from that. We, the banks, don’t have enough resources and we welcome fintechs with open arms,” Chaudhry added.

Commenting on the bank’s pilots using the new technology, he said Axis Bank is currently running “around 15 experiments” with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to personalise its app for users.

“We want the customer to be seen as the only customer served by the bank and for every customer to have a personalized experience with the bank. Every customer should have a unique page that opens in the mobile app where they get access to all the features. To achieve this vision, we are running around 15 experiments on AI and ML,” Chaudhry added.

His comments came on the last day of the GFF 2024 conference, where tech giant Google announced a slew of new features including UPI Circle, eRupi and QR code scanning on its bill payment app Clickpay.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at the event, praised the fintech ecosystem, stating that the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a perfect example of the success of the Indian fintech industry.

PM Modi also said that the central government is working on advanced technologies and regulatory framework to strengthen financial markets. The prime minister said that the homegrown fintech ecosystem will improve ease of living across the world, adding that the best is yet to come in India.

India is home to over 24 fintech unicorns and 36 soonicorns, according to Inc42 data. The country’s burgeoning fintech market is set to become a $2.1 trillion opportunity by 2030.