In BFSI, everything is data; putting CIOs at the centre of business growth: KNC Nair, CIO, Indel Money

For much of the past, the role of the CIO in financial services was confined to the background, keeping systems running while business leaders took centre stage. That equation, according to KNC Nair, CIO, Indel Money, has fundamentally changed.

“Earlier, business teams used to say, ‘You attend to technology and support us, we will do the business,’” Nair recalls. “Beyond facilitating systems, there was no real expectation.” Today, he says, that boundary has disappeared. “Many business verticals are now fully digital. In BFSI, everything is data, everything is information, and that puts the CIO at the centre of business growth.”

That shift mirrors Indel Money’s own evolution. Once a predominantly branch-led gold loan company, the NBFC has quietly transformed itself into a largely paperless, digitally driven organisation where technology underpins almost every customer interaction.

A fully digital customer lifecycle

“In the initial days, only parts of the business were automated,” Nair says. “Now, almost the entire customer journey is fully digital, from onboarding to asset appraisal, loan servicing, closure and asset release.”

Gold remains Indel Money’s flagship collateral, but how it is appraised, serviced and safeguarded has changed dramatically. Customers no longer need to carry physical documents. “Even identity verification is digital,” Nair explains. “All a customer needs is Aadhaar and PAN. Through authorised services, data is validated and captured directly into our systems.”

Payments tell a similar story. Cash, once unavoidable in lending operations, has all but disappeared. “Cash transactions are now negligible, around 0.2 percent,” he says. “Nearly 99.8 percent of payments happen through banking channels.”

For Nair, digital maturity is not just about convenience but control. “When the entire lifecycle is digital, you can reduce friction, improve transparency and manage risk far more effectively.”

Compliance as a trust-building exercise

In a regulatory environment shaped by RBI scrutiny and the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, Nair assured that compliance is not an afterthought for Indel Money, it is foundational.

“We do not believe in doing business by violating compliance,” Nair states. “Building trust is directly linked to how seriously you treat compliance.”

DPDP principles, he says, are embedded across Indel Money’s processes. Customer data collected through eKYC is stored in centralised systems with strict access controls. “Access is on a need-to-know basis, even internally,” he notes. Branch employees, who interact most closely with customers, are actively discouraged from retaining any paper-based data.

Security controls are aligned with RBI guidelines, supported by regular VAPT exercises, system audits and continuous monitoring. But governance does not stop at internal controls. “We have also implemented customer-facing controls,” Nair adds. “Through our mobile app, customers can opt out of promotions or request data deletion as per regulatory provisions.”

For him, DPDP is not just a regulatory checkbox. “We follow it in letter and spirit,” he says.

Re-architecting for an API-first future

As the NBFC ecosystem becomes more interconnected, legacy systems are proving inadequate. Indel Money’s existing core financial system, Nair admits, had limited flexibility for API-based integrations.

“That prompted us to move to a modern, microservices-based, API-driven platform,” he says. The new system, currently under development, is expected to go live within months. “From April onwards, we will largely operate on this new architecture.”

The shift is driven by changing business models. “Earlier, everything happened within the company,” Nair explains. “Now, co-lending is emerging, partnerships are increasing, and data sharing with banks and other stakeholders has become essential.”

Indel Money has already partnered with banks including DCB Bank, and Nair sees APIs as critical to scaling such collaborations. “Any new service or product should be integrated quickly, internally or externally. That agility is non-negotiable.”

AI beyond the buzzword

While AI has become a buzzword across financial services, Nair is careful to focus on practical, problem-led use cases. One such area is gold appraisal.

“Traditionally, we used 12 to 15 different tests to assess gold,” he says. “Now we are piloting AI-based camera solutions to assist with aspects like colour recognition.”

Human expertise is not being replaced, he clarifies, but augmented. “Colour alone is not enough, but AI-based imaging can sometimes be more precise than the human eye.”

Fraud detection is another priority. Nair points to organised fraud rings that move across regions, approaching multiple NBFCs with low-quality gold. “By capturing customer images and analysing historical data, we can identify repeat offenders or high-risk patterns,” he explains.

Beyond gold loans, AI is also being explored for other lending products. “For personal or business loans, credit appraisal involves analysing bank statements, GST filings and ITRs,” he says. “AI tools can significantly reduce the time and manual effort involved,” he adds.

Technology as a security layer

For a gold loan company, security is existential. “Gold is as good as cash,” Nair says. “Any incident at a branch can damage reputation instantly.”

Indel Money has complemented physical security with AI-enabled surveillance, including face detection and motion detection. “Alerts are monitored 24/7 by a central control room,” he explains. “When something unusual is detected, action is taken immediately.”

In addition, RFID tags are used to track gold packets. “If an asset moves outside a defined perimeter, alerts are triggered,” he says.

Rather than building everything in-house, Indel Money has partnered with specialised security management firms. “When alerts are generated, their teams physically rush to the branch to investigate,” Nair notes. “It’s not cost-effective for us to build that capability alone.”

The human challenge

Not all challenges are technological. High attrition is a persistent issue in NBFCs, particularly among frontline staff. “Young employees often leave within three to six months,” Nair says.

In a fully digital environment, this creates operational risk. “People need to be trained quickly to use systems effectively,” he explains. Continuous training and awareness programs have become essential, supported by digital tools that accelerate onboarding.

Measuring impact and deterrence

While AI-led gold appraisal is still in pilot mode, Nair says its impact goes beyond efficiency metrics. “We have not fully quantified it yet,” he admits. “But the very presence of these systems acts as a strong deterrent.”

Processes such as weight measurement are already automated, with digital balances feeding data directly into core systems. “Earlier, there was always a possibility of manipulation,” he says. “Now, with automation and cameras, transparency improves significantly.”

For Nair, technology’s role at Indel Money is clear. It is no longer a support function, but a strategic lever to drive trust, resilience and business growth in a tightly regulated industry.

As he puts it, “When the business itself is digital, the CIO cannot sit on the sidelines. Technology is the business.”