New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh and Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the establishment of the PNB Quantum Finance Hub at Amaravati Quantum Valley (AQV) to foster innovation and the adoption of next-generation technologies in the banking sector.

On the occasion, PNB MD and CEO Ashok Chandra inaugurated the Hub, making it the first bank in India to partner with a state government to establish a dedicated Hub for the banking sector.

The Hub will serve as a collaborative platform bringing together industry, academia, startups, and government agencies, to develop practical solutions that improve banking services, strengthen cybersecurity, enhance fraud detection, optimize business operations, and improve customer experience, PNB said in a statement.

The banking sector is witnessing rapid digital transformation, accompanied by increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, large-scale financial fraud attempts, and evolving security challenges, it said.

At the same time, advances in Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing are reshaping the global financial landscape, it said.

While these technologies offer tremendous opportunities to improve efficiency, customer services, and risk management, they also require banks to prepare for future security challenges and adopt resilient digital infrastructure, it said.

The PNB Quantum Finance Hub will enable the development, testing, and adoption of next-generation banking solutions that are secure, intelligent, and future-ready, it said.

The initiative will also support collaborative research, encourage innovation among startups, promote industry-academia partnerships, and create a skilled workforce capable of driving the next phase of digital transformation in the financial sector, it said.

The MoU was exchanged in the presence of Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu, and Ashok Chandra.

Speaking on the occasion, Naidu said: "Our vision is to make Amaravati a global centre for deep technologies and innovation. Amaravati Quantum Valley is the first of the many innovation ecosystems we are developing in Amaravati as part of this grand vision." The establishment of the PNB Quantum & AI Finance Innovation Hub is another important milestone in this journey, Naidu said.

"Through our partnership with the Andhra Pradesh and Amaravati Quantum Valley, we aim to harness the transformative potential of Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence to strengthen cybersecurity, enhance operational efficiency, improve customer experience, and prepare the bank for the future of digital banking," Chandra said.

The Hub will serve as a collaborative platform for research, innovation, incubation, and acceleration of next-generation financial technologies, it added. PTI DP MR

Quantum finance innovation will develop secure, AI-enabled banking solutions through collaborative research, startup incubation, cybersecurity enhancement and workforce development. Quantum finance innovation is to be advanced through a memorandum of understanding for establishing the PNB Quantum Finance Hub at Amaravati Quantum Valley. The hub will develop, test and support adoption of secure, intelligent and future-ready banking solutions using Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence. It will bring together industry, academia, startups and government agencies for research, innovation, incubation and acceleration of financial technologies, focusing on cybersecurity, fraud detection, operational efficiency, risk management and customer experience.