Digitisation, innovative technologies creating unprecedented disruption in banking sector: SBI Chairman

Digitisation and innovative technologies are creating unprecedented disruption in the banking sector, and lenders need to be agile to meet the rising expectations of customers, State Bank of India's Chairman Dinesh Khara said on Friday.

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Banks have adopted the digital revolution, which has reduced their cost and widened the area of services they offer, he added.

"Digital innovation is redefining industries and changing the way businesses function. Digitisation and innovative technologies are creating unprecedented disruption in the banking sector and the rate of change is accelerating," Khara said at a Dun & Bradstreet event.

Today, digitisation and digital innovations have become a strategic priority for the banking industry, he noted.

"Banks need to be agile and nimble as technology increases customer expectation and the regulatory landscape also evolves rapidly to keep pace with technological advancement," he said.

According to Khara, there is a realisation among banks that the scale and adoption of digital transformation are to keep pace with the rapidly changing ecosystem.

To achieve the digital transformation goal, banks and financial institutions need to have a clear vision of what they intend to achieve with technology, he added.

Swift absorption and adoption of new technology and innovation, and quality of infrastructure are crucial elements that play a significant role in building confidence in the digital lending system, he said.

Going forward, banks of all sizes and across regions will make a huge difference by enabling digital initiatives to maintain a competitive edge and deliver a maximum value to customers, he noted.

During a panel discussion at the event, Indian Banks' Association (IBA) Chief Executive Sunil Mehta said the payment space has been digitalised and now it is time for digitisation of lending space.

"The next stage of banking, where the lending space has to be digitised, is on and banks are working on it," Mehta added.

He said digitisation of some of the lending products has already been started by banks, but a very small number of products are available that are digitised end-to-end.

"There is a need for digitisation of the entire lending eco-space," he noted.

Mehta said that technovation is gradually happening in the banking industry and now the speed is more driven by the pandemic.

During the pandemic, everybody has realised the importance of alternate delivery channels for banking services, he said.

While addressing the event, International Finance Corporation (IFC) Country head (India) Wendy Werner said India is quickly evolving as a digital-enabled economy.

The country has the highest fintech adoption rate in the world and much of this is coming from tier 2 and tier 3 cities, she said.

"So, we are very positive about the impact of fintech and the ability of fintech to expand access to finance, services and information for the population in India. Globally, we have estimated that the fintech market in India is around USD 50-60 billion and we expect it to grow," she said.

Werner said India is a huge market and potentially there are many startups looking to take advantage of that market. Approximately, 2,100 fintech startups are looking at the Indian market and it is probably increasing every day.