In an exclusive conversation with Express Computer, Sony A, CIO, South Indian Bank, speaks with conviction about how he envisions the future of banking, a world where technology and trust coexist, and where physical and digital realms blur seamlessly. “Our vision,” he says, “is to build a digital twin for the bank, creating a seamless experience across physical and digital worlds.”
That simple phrase, digital twin, captures the essence of South Indian Bank’s ongoing transformation journey. It’s not about technology for technology’s sake, but about reimagining the bank’s identity in an era where customer behaviour, regulation, and risk are being continuously reshaped by digital forces.
Sony points out that India’s banking ecosystem is entering a new phase of transformation. “One of the key strengths India enjoys is its very robust payments ecosystem,” he says. “Lending is now the next big thing, with digitisation of journeys and greater collaboration with partners.”
The next wave, he believes, will emerge in domains like the account aggregator ecosystem and data consent networks, which will open unprecedented access to verified, permission-based data. Banks that can harness this data responsibly, and intelligently, will be able to underwrite faster, cheaper, and more inclusively.
The four-pillar digital strategy
At the heart of South Indian Bank’s transformation is a structured four-pillar framework that Sony calls Indulge, Nudge, Purge, and Forge. Indulge focuses on making every customer journey fully digital, from opening accounts to availing loans. Nudge recognises that not every customer is digitally native; the bank uses relationship managers, business correspondents, and on-ground agents to gradually move these users toward digital experiences. Purge is the automation pillar eliminating redundant, manual processes through RPA, intelligent process automation (IPA), and AI-driven re-engineering. Forge represents the spirit of collaboration, the bank’s growing partnerships with fintechs and NBFCs through API-driven integrations.
This four-pillar model is more than an operational framework; it’s a blueprint for cultural change. “We’ve already built close to ₹1,400 crore of assets through our fintech partnerships in the past nine months,” Sony notes, underscoring how digital collaboration is no longer an experiment but a mainstream business lever.
Creating a ‘digital twin’ of the bank
The concept of a digital twin is not common in banking, it’s more familiar in industries like manufacturing or smart cities. But Sony’s interpretation is refreshingly contextual. Just like some countries are building digital twins of their embassies, Sony wants to create a virtual identity for the bank that mirrors their physical operations.
With 98.5% of all transactions now digital, the goal is to integrate this digital maturity into a cohesive identity that resonates with younger, digitally native customers, a generation that might never step into a physical branch.
This vision extends beyond technology. It’s about redefining what a bank is, not merely a place to transact but a platform that evolves with customer needs, data insights, and trust.
Calibrated cloud adoption, not a race
Unlike many institutions that rushed to the cloud during the pandemic, South Indian Bank has taken a measured path. “We didn’t rush. We knew we were a regulated entity, and any move had to align with RBI guidelines,” Sony points out.
The bank’s approach follows three principles starting with partner cloud enablement that allow fintech or NBFC partners to operate on the cloud as long as they comply with the bank’s InfoSec baselines. Next is selective adoption to use the cloud for non-critical or non-PII workloads such as analytics, diagnostics, and logs. And then is value-driven migration to move workloads only where there’s demonstrable cost or performance benefit.
This discipline has paid off. While several early adopters are now reeling under cost pressures, South Indian Bank has avoided what Sony calls the “cloud cost bullet.” “Our philosophy has been to calibrate, not accelerate,” he adds.
Balancing urban and rural digitisation
For a bank with deep roots in southern India, bridging the urban-rural digital divide is both a challenge and an opportunity. But Sony is quick to clarify that rural doesn’t always mean digitally backward. “Our rural operations are mostly in peninsular India, where digital adoption is high, electricity and internet access are not barriers anymore,” he avers.
The bank’s strategy, therefore, is not to chase unfamiliar geographies, but to grow deeper where brand recall is already strong. For markets where presence is limited, digital partnerships become the growth engine, allowing the bank to extend its reach without incurring high marketing costs.
Partnerships powering the new banking model
If collaboration is the new competition, South Indian Bank seems to have embraced it wholeheartedly. On the liability side, the bank partners with fintech platforms to offer “Quick FDs” allowing customers to open deposits digitally within minutes. On the asset side, it has built digital journeys with loan service providers (LSPs) for products such as personal loans and co-lending arrangements with NBFCs.
“We have a fully automated quick personal loan platform, the entire journey from lead to disbursement happens without human intervention,” Sony states. “For gold loans, our co-lending partnerships are completely digital in both data and process flow.”
AI with explainability and ethics
As AI becomes embedded in lending decisions, the issue of explainability grows more complex. “Regulators mandate that we must tell customers why their applications are rejected, for example, a poor credit score,” Sony notes. “But the inner mechanics of ML models can’t be disclosed in detail because of potential misuse.”
The bank uses a two-tiered validation mechanism: internal audits and third-party model validations to ensure fairness and compliance. Sony differentiates between decisioning and detection. He mentions that while decisioning AI, like loan approval, must be transparent, detection AI, like fraud analytics, can afford to be opaque to maintain effectiveness.
This nuanced approach shows how the bank is trying to balance transparency with prudence , building trust while safeguarding the system.
Resilience over perfection
Ask any CIO about system downtime, and you’ll get a sigh. Sony’s answer, however, is pragmatic. “There’s no such thing as a fail-proof system. You design assuming it will fail,” he asserts, echoing Pramod Varma’s philosophy behind UPI.
For South Indian Bank, resilience is a design principle. While planned downtimes are inevitable for upgrades or patching, the focus is on making unplanned downtime nearly impossible. “Even shaving off a few minutes of downtime is a win,” he says.
Agentic AI: From chatbots to contextual agents
The next frontier, Sony believes, is agentic AI, systems capable not just of responding but of reasoning and executing workflows autonomously. “Earlier chatbots failed when the customer changed context mid-conversation,” he explains. “Now, AI agents can retain context, authenticate users, and even fulfill service requests end-to-end.”
These agents could soon act as intermediaries between customers and service staff, or even handle entire classes of transactions without human involvement. Still, Sony acknowledges that human touch will remain irreplaceable. “Even if customers get what they need digitally, they still prefer talking to a person when something goes wrong. Technology can’t replicate empathy.”
What stands out about South Indian Bank’s transformation is not the technology stack or digital KPIs, instead it’s the philosophy behind them. A calibrated cloud, explainable AI, inclusive digitisation, and a vision for a digital twin, these are not isolated initiatives but reflections of a deep cultural shift.
As Sony put it best, “We’re packaging our digital capabilities not just to keep up, but to be future-ready.”
And in that statement lies the essence of the modern Indian bank, one that knows its roots, embraces innovation, and builds not just for today’s customers, but for the digital generations to come.