GenAI will make banking conversational going forward: IDFC First Bank’s V Vaidyanathan

Generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) will make banking more conversational in the future, said V Vaidyanathan, Managing Director and CEO of IDFC First Bank, emphasising that the industry is poised for significant technological changes in the coming years.

“Generative AI will play a big role in banking. Now, at the end of the day, (the banking apps that exist), are just menu-based apps. You have to press buttons for everything,” said Vaidyanathan, speaking at the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) in a special chat with YourStory’s Founder and CEO Shradha Sharma.

“In future, you will not do this. You will actually say (to the app) hey, can I please invest some money? Can you (the app) select the best fund for me? Can you invest for me? Can I send Rs 100 to my brother? So on and so forth. Basically, it’s going to become conversational,” Vaidyanathan added.

On Friday, Vaidyanathan also launched the new version of IDFC First Bank's mobile application, which allows users to manage their bank accounts, invest, purchase insurance, redeem reward points, and access various other services all from a single app. He stated that IDFC First Bank aims to make premium banking accessible even to those who can only maintain a few thousand rupees in their accounts.

Vaidyanathan’s comments come at a time when there’s a lot of excitement around AI and GenAI in India’s fintech ecosystem. On the first day of the GFF, Shailendra Singh, founding partner of Peak XV (Sequoia Capital India) also said that he has been constantly nudging his portfolio companies to explore the various use cases of artificial intelligence.

Vaidyanathan further said that technological and economic advancements over the next two decades will make India’s gross domestic product grow manifold, thus improving the lifestyle of people. He said banking will play a major role in how people manage their finances, and thus he wants to make his premium banking services available to most.

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“Crazy moment is coming in the history of this country which we have never experienced before. Everybody who has an opportunity to become rich in the next 30 years, provided they have the skills, provided they put in the effort, will become rich” Vaidyanathan said.

“People today may not be able to imagine what a $35 trillion economy looks like. It’s 10 times from now, which means 90% of India is not yet built. It will happen in the next 20 years. Whatever we are seeing today, it’s just 10%,” he added.