Devanshi Mittal, CTO of Maxemo Capital, highlights emerging use cases, strategic technology priorities, and omnichannel customer experience and compliance demands in the 2025 BFSI landscape.
For NBFCs and banks, tech is not only a cost or process play; it’s the key to unlocking new product offerings, scaling client acquisition, deepening engagement, and ensuring compliance agility. The operational advantages of end-to-end automation, AI-powered compliance, and customer-centric digital access collectively define the competitive terrain for 2025.
A recent conversation between Nisha Sharma, Senior Tech Correspondent at Tech Disruptor Media, and Devanshi Mittal, CTO of Maxemo Capital, reveals how India’s BFSI sector—especially NBFCs—is leveraging AI, data analytics, and digital channels for competitive growth, risk control, and regulatory compliance.
AI and data analytics: Core to NBFC strategy
AI and data analytics have become foundational for Indian NBFCs, driving risk management, operational resilience, and customer-centric innovation. As Devanshi notes, risk management remains the “number one priority,” with technology used to bolster faster and more accurate loan processing, alternative credit assessment, and enhanced portfolio monitoring. AI empowers digital lenders to tap into traditional and alternative data (banking, GST, credit bureau), automate risk detection, and take pre-emptive action against fraud, thus reducing operational costs and improving overall portfolio health.
These tools automate credit underwriting and deliver scalable, consistent credit decisions crucial for NBFCs looking to serve broader segments, including India’s traditionally underserved. Real-world adoption mirrors sector trends: AI-powered models reduce loan processing time, automate background verifications, and provide real-time portfolio and collections oversight, helping NBFCs manage non-performing assets and comply with stringent prudential norms.
Technology-driven CX
The BFSI sector now views customer experience as a primary competitive lever. Devanshi’s articulation of key strategies—such as minimizing manual entry, deploying paperless onboarding, and integrating with GST and banking platforms—reflects a systematic move toward frictionless, omnichannel, and personalized customer journeys.
A notable trend is the shift from “app-first” to “channel-agnostic” service design. Recognizing app fatigue, NBFCs increasingly embed processes on platforms like WhatsApp where customers already engage. Omnichannel approaches allow users to start, pause, and complete applications across platforms, supported by contextual reminders and automated verifications. This paradigm delivers the seamless continuity customers demand, with AI-driven personalization ensuring relevant offers and support no matter the touchpoint. Tools like unified customer data platforms (CDPs) and conversational AI agents further enable tailored interactions, faster response times, and higher customer satisfaction.
Regulatory compliance: Navigating the DPDP Act
The conversation also foregrounds the imperative of compliance, specifically referencing the DPDP Act 2023, and RBI’s evolving regulatory expectations. Since the Act, NBFCs may no longer store certain sensitive customer details (e.g., Aadhaar numbers), which has required KYC and document management retooling. Devanshi acknowledges the operational frictions—customers accustomed to legacy practices now face new data submission standards. At the same time, NBFCs must introduce robust tech to align with evolving privacy and security directives.
Regulatory oversight in this domain is tightening: RBI routinely penalizes NBFCs for KYC, liquidity risk, and IT/cyber compliance lapses. As digital processes scale, so does the need for resilient, auditable, and customer-friendly workflows. Technologies such as automated KYC verification, advanced logging, and dynamic reporting have become non-negotiable tools for staying within the bounds of RBI’s master directions and sector guidelines.
Implications for BFSI
This exchange spotlights several takeaways for peers in BFSI:
- AI and analytics are table stakes for risk, growth, and regulatory alignment.
- Omnichannel and personalized experiences drive entry, loyalty, and retention, built on seamless integration of data and touchpoints.
- Regulatory compliance is tightening, demanding ongoing digital investments and culture shifts.
- Efficiency and “frictionless finance” are both the brand promise and operational imperative for next-generation BFSI firms.
Banks and NBFCs must act now to institutionalize these capabilities, remaining agile amid evolving technologies, customer behaviors, and regulatory landscapes—or risk being left behind in an AI-first future.
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