In a world where digital payments have evolved from a convenience to a way of life, the financial technology (fintech) sector stands at the intersection of innovation, trust, and technology. Few leaders understand this convergence better than Koushik Kadidal, Chief Data Officer and Head of Insights Business at PayU, who is helping shape the next era of digital finance — one powered by data and generative AI (GenAI).
Data and fintech: A perfect match
“For someone in data, fintech is as good as it gets,” says Koushik with a smile. “Financial services come with mountains of data — far more than most other industries. And because of the scale and significance of what we do, the commercial value of every insight we extract is immense. It’s a dream for any data scientist to apply cutting-edge techniques on such large datasets and see direct business impact.”
India’s digital payment revolution
As one of India’s earliest payment aggregators, PayU has had a front-row seat to the country’s digital revolution.
“In the last decade, India has emerged as the global leader in digital payments,” Koushik emphasizes. “It’s been incredible to watch that transformation. Yet, we’re only getting started. The digital economy is expected to grow 5–7x in the next five years, and digital lending could see similar growth.”
As the ecosystem matures, both customers and merchants are expecting more — faster, frictionless, and secure transactions. “Today, merchants expect very high success rates and robust platforms,” he adds. “Once that’s achieved, they look for value-added services — insights, credit access, and personalised financial tools. The expectations are higher than ever, which makes it an exciting time for a company like ours.”
The real power of AI in fintech
While much of the world is still exploring where GenAI fits, PayU is already deploying it across the value chain.
“We use AI for growth, fraud management, risk analysis, customer experience, and operational efficiency,” Koushik explains. “From fraud detection to customer support, AI has become integral to how we operate.”
One particularly successful implementation has been in merchant onboarding — an area previously dependent on manual verification.
“As a regulated entity, we need to verify every merchant’s business details to ensure compliance. Earlier, this was a tedious process. Now, AI agents handle about 40–60% of these verifications. It’s improved accuracy and cut down onboarding time dramatically. It’s a win-win — faster for merchants, and safer for us.”
Focus on internal AI democratisation
“We ensured AI was available at the fingertips of every employee,” says Koushik. “Within two months of launch, 80% of our employees were actively using our internal AI assistants. That’s a huge adoption curve — and it shows how empowering the right tools can be.”
Balancing innovation with compliance
For a company that handles both data and money, compliance is non-negotiable.
“We took our time to ensure our AI deployments were fully compliant,” Koushik notes. “We’re not an e-commerce firm — we’re a financial entity. Our data and our customers’ trust are our greatest assets.”
PayU has implemented strict access controls, data localisation, and audit trails for all its models. “All our models are based in India. Even if that means working with slightly older versions, we prioritise compliance first,” he says. “We also track model performance and ensure explainability. Compliance isn’t an afterthought — it’s the foundation.”
Lessons from AI deployment
Koushik is candid about the challenges too. “The first challenge was deploying AI the right way — compliant, secure, and explainable. The second was calibrating between hype and reality. Some extreme use cases we explored simply weren’t ready for AI yet. The key is to find the balance — dream big, but stay practical.”
Data strategy: From support function to boardroom
According to Koushik, the true power of data comes when it’s positioned strategically — not as a support function.
“In most organisations, data teams are horizontal support units — they build reports or models on request,” he explains. “But the real value emerges when data is part of the boardroom conversation. A strong data function should not just validate management’s ideas but challenge them with facts. That’s where transformative insights come from.”
He recalls one such counterintuitive insight from early in his career: “In credit cards, it was believed that if a customer transfers their existing balance to your card, they’re high-risk. But data showed the opposite — those who intend to pay actually transfer. It changed how we approached lending strategy entirely. That’s the kind of worldview only data can uncover.”
The financial experience of 2030
Koushik’s vision for 2030 is ambitious — and rooted in inclusion. “My bet is that the same level of progress we’ve seen in digital payments will soon happen in digital banking and lending. Today, only a small fraction of people borrow digitally. By 2030, digital banking and lending will be ubiquitous — powered by AI-driven trust, transparency, and personalization.”
He adds an interesting perspective on fraud, too: “Fraud represents less than 1% of transactions — yet it creates friction for the remaining 99%. If we could eliminate that 1%, the customer experience would be phenomenal. That’s the goal we’re chasing.”
The road to trust
For Koushik Kadidal and his team at PayU, the next phase of digital finance isn’t just about transactions — it’s about trust.
“GenAI gives us the opportunity to build a more intuitive, efficient, and trustworthy financial ecosystem,” he concludes. “At the end of the day, every innovation must make digital finance more human — seamless, secure, and smart.”