Mumbai, Jul 14 (PTI) RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Tuesday asked banks to leverage advanced technologies, including AI, to expand their reach while ensuring robust cybersecurity and safeguards against fraud and data misuse.

Addressing the half-yearly meetings with managing directors and chief executive officers of public and select private sector banks, the governor also urged the lenders to continue to meet the needs of all segments and sections of the economy with renewed vigour and prudence.

In his opening remarks, Malhotra acknowledged that the banking sector has witnessed broad-based growth and urged the banks to continue to meet the needs of all segments and sections of the economy with renewed vigour and prudence.

He suggested banks to leverage advanced technologies, including AI, to expand their reach, improve operational efficiency, reduce costs and enhance customer experience while ensuring robust cybersecurity, strong internal controls and safeguards against fraud and data misuse, the RBI said in a statement.

Malhotra also stressed the need to cultivate a passion for excellence in customer service by placing customers at the heart of banking operations.

The meetings were attended by deputy governors Swaminathan J, Poonam Gupta, S C Murmu and Rohit Jain, along with the executive directors in charge of supervision, regulation, enforcement, consumer education and protection, and financial inclusion.

Other matters discussed during the meetings included CKYCR, early detection of FICN, adoption and/or popularisation of MuleHunter, CBDC, ULI, Account Aggregator, FX Retail, and Retail-Direct.

The participants shared their feedback on these aspects, as well as other matters broadly affecting the financial sector, the RBI said. PTI NKD NKD BAL BAL

Advanced technology in banking requires cybersecurity, internal controls, fraud prevention, and safeguards against data misuse. Banks were encouraged to use advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, to expand their reach, improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance customer experience. This approach must be supported by robust cybersecurity, strong internal controls, and safeguards against fraud and misuse of data. The banking sector was also urged to serve all segments of the economy prudently, strengthen customer service, and consider developments involving the Central KYC Records Registry, counterfeit currency detection, MuleHunter, central bank digital currency, the Unified Lending Interface, Account Aggregator, FX Retail, and Retail Direct.