Aspire to become a digital-first SFB'

Technology lies at the heart of FINO Payments Bank Managing Director & CEO Rishi Gupta's vision for the new small finance bank (SFB). In an interview with Mahesh Nayak, Gupta said his approach is rooted in a digital-first mindset.

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Drawing inspiration from neo-banks like Nubank, artificial intelligence will be harnessed to enhance customer experience, strengthen fraud management, and boost operational efficiency. Excerpts:

What strategic groundwork did you lay as a payments bank to prepare for this transition?

We deliberately went beyond building a lending book. Our model is focused on expanding liabilities and product offerings. We strengthened distribution, engaged more closely with merchants and customers, and built a dedicated customer experience team. On the technology front, we migrated our core banking platform from FIS to Finacle to enable lighter systems and future AI integration. We also invested heavily in AI for customer experience, fraud management, and security. Talent acquisition was another priority, we brought in seasoned bankers to prepare for the SFB journey.

What is the time frame to commence operations as a SFB?