Following is the edited version of a speech delivered by Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on June 17
The impact of Covid-19 pandemic, the recent geo-political crisis and the all-pervasive technological innovations sweeping across economies are challenging the traditional financial intermediation processes…
Over the past few years, the business of banking has witnessed a shift from traditional branch banking to digital banking. This paradigm shift has been possible due to innovations in information technology (IT), growth in mobile and internet connectivity, market-based financial intermediation, and the advent of Fintech. Financial service providers are now devising new products and services and are adopting new business models for reaching out to the target customers.
Improvements in technology have also enhanced the cause of financial inclusion and tech-enabled public goods delivery. Direct benefit transfer (DBT) through the digital mode is among the best examples of tech-enabled public goods delivery. Digital-mobile-anywhere-anytime banking is becoming the order of the day. The indigenously developed Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Aadhaar Enabled Payment Service (AePS) have become the backbone of our retail payments system.
Alongside these advancements, the Reserve Bank’s regulatory approach has been realigned to support and foster such innovations…
With the advent of new technologies, we are witnessing a new era of disruption. Given the growing role of technology, data and network effects, there is a feeling among the banks that having an ethos of a technology company, while offering banking services, is the need of the hour. This is an area of opportunity for the banks; but there are associated challenges which need to be mitigated. Greater attention needs to be given to building customers’ trust by (i) offering products and services appropriate and fit for customer’s needs and circumstances; (ii) ensuring robust security controls, reliable and efficient delivery of services, transparency of terms and conditions to customers; and (iii) by handling customer grievances satisfactorily and building necessary awareness among customers. All of these aspects need to be factored in when financial institutions introduce or enhance technology driven products and services.
Talking about opportunities, it would be relevant to note that what we have seen until now could be just the tip of the iceberg. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to determine the creditworthiness of clients for small ticket loans by analyzing data from a wide range of traditional and non-traditional data sources, has the potential to enhance access to credit for marginalized customers. Here also it would be necessary to understand the associated risks and mitigate them suitably through various safeguards and precautions. Risks relating to cyber security, software development, limitations in transaction capacity, privacy of customer data, and data security need to be factored in. The methodology of algorithms underpinning digital financial services has to be clear, transparent, explainable and free from exclusionary biases. The credit scoring models using innovative techniques can be useful but they should be subject to a robust model govenance framework. Comprehensive assessment of risks has also to be undertaken while planning to move to cloud with customer sensitive data.
In all these digital initiatives, the plan should also factor in those sets of customers who may not be digitally savvy and who may want to engage physically with the bank. It is, therefore, crucial that while driving various tech-enabled initiatives, the existing systems and processes do not see frequent disruptions and non-availability. We have already seen instances of the damage that disruptions in technology systems can bring and the reputation risk they carry for financial entities…
It has also to be recognised that human resources can turn out to be the weakest link in technology enabled financial services. There is thus a vital need for ongoing training and skill building programmes.
At the end of the day, the bottom-line is how technology improves the financial system in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, resolving bottlenecks in economic functions and providing value addition to the customers.
Large technology companies (Big Tech) which have entered into provision of financial services could potentially be another source of disruption to the financial system. These companies have an enormous amount of customer data which has helped them to offer tailored financial services to entities and individuals lacking credit history or collateral. Even the banks and other lenders are sometimes utilising platforms provided by fintech companies in their internal processes for credit risk assessment. Such large scale use of new methodologies in credit risk assessment can create systemic concerns like over-leverage, inadequate credit assessment, etc. Authorities and regulators have to strike a fine balance between enabling innovation and preventing systemic risks.
(The author is the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.)