RBL Bank: Major Financial Milestones Achieved, Backed By Digital

RBL Bank is ramping up digital innovation to fuel growth across both retail and corporate banking, with the first half of FY2025–26 marked by significant investments in digital transformation. 

According to Ravi Pichan, CIO and Head of the Digital Banking Unit, the bank is strategically strengthening its retail segment through enhanced deposit mobilization and a wider portfolio of retail asset offerings. As it moves into the second half of the fiscal year, RBL Bank is set to roll out a host of new digital services, including improvements in onboarding, forex cards, mobile banking, wealth and HNI services, and preferred banking for businesses.

In a free wheeling discussion with FE CIO, Pichan throws more light on the Bank’s future plans.

Edited Excerpts:

What are the major digital initiatives undertaken in the H2, 2025-26 and in FY 2024-25 ?

RBL Bank achieved some key financial milestones in Q2 FY26. The Loan Against Property (LAP) surpassed ₹10,000 crore, while Business Banking Loans exceeded ₹2,000 crore. The Retail to Wholesale mix in advances reached a healthy 60:40 ratio. Granular deposits grew 14% YoY, now constituting 51% of total deposits. Moreover the advances crossed ₹1 lakh crore, reflecting robust growth momentum.

Moreover the bank launched multiple product offerings and digital initiatives in H2, 2025-26 and in FY 2024-25.

A number of new retail asset products were launched—including two-wheeler, four-wheeler, and rural vehicle financing on advanced origination platforms, significantly reducing turnaround times and enhancing customer experience. 

Traditional lending products such as Housing Loans and LAP are now powered by a robust digital backbone, enabling scale and efficiency in retail asset growth. A new Bancassurance platform was introduced, facilitating partnerships with leading private insurers to offer a wide range of Health, Life, and General Insurance products to the Bank’s customers. The Bank secured approvals to collect direct and indirect taxes across multiple states, further strengthening its service capabilities through digital channels.

The digital backbone was also strengthened. As a part of the transformation journey, the Bank unified its digital servicing platforms by merging its mobile banking applications MoBank (banking) and MyCard (credit card) into MyBank, a comprehensive mobile app offering seamless access to banking, wealth management and credit card services. 

To further ease UPI payments, OS-Native Biometric Authentication for UPI was launched, thus eliminating PIN entry for UPI transactions, offering faster, more secure, and convenient payments, driving adoption of biometric-based digital experiences.

The launch of IoT Payments via UPI enabled payments through secondary devices like smartwatches, TVs, and car dashboards linked to the user’s primary UPI app—bringing speed, security, and hands-free convenience. UIDAI Face Authentication for UPI PIN Reset was also activated thus, replacing Aadhaar OTP with face authentication.

Integration of NPCI’s SLM Chatbot, an AI-powered chatbot for UPI grievance redressal, mandate management, and FAQs, ensuring 24/7 support and faster resolution for a superior user experience. The Bank integrated National Payments Corporation Of India’s (NPCI) integrated Small Language Model (SLM) chatbot to launch AI powered ‘UPI Assist’, to provide 24/7 support for UPI grievance redressal, mandate management, and FAQs.

Some other digital initiatives include the adoption of Unified Lending Interface (ULI) from Reserve Bank of India Innovation Hub (RBIH) and Account Aggregator framework to streamline onboarding of retail loans; The collection efficiency was improved through digital channels leveraging UPI infrastructure, resulting in reduced payment defaults and enhanced transparency.

These digital initiatives and innovations underscore RBL Bank’s commitment to customer empowerment, security, and convenience, while setting new benchmarks in digital banking and payment ecosystems.  

How many of the digital product offerings and initiatives are a result of the collaboration with the Fintech ecosystem and what kind of RoI has the Bank been able to achieve?

RBL Bank has partnered with Fintech companies, majorly in the cards segment. These offerings were showcased at Global Fintech Festival (GFF), 2025.

In collaboration with fintech partners, the Bank launched solutions such as the Humsafar Card—a prepaid card designed for travel, food, fuel, and daily expenses. Similarly, the Bank also unveiled a unique, first-of-its-kind capability to load prepaid cards through personalized QR code printed on the card in collaboration with another Fintech.

These initiatives have not only contributed to strong financial performance but also enhanced operational agility, customer engagement, and digital adoption.

Behind the scenes, what kind of team composition was established that worked on these initiatives ?

The successful execution of the Bank’s digital and IT initiatives during FY 2024-25 was the result of a highly collaborative, cross-functional effort. The team composition reflected a blend of strategic leadership, domain expertise, and technical excellence:

Business Teams: Provided deep domain insights and drove product innovation, especially in launching new lending products and enhancing deposit mobilization strategies.

Technology & Engineering: Responsible for building and integrating platforms, digital systems, and mobile applications, ensuring robust performance and user experience.

Digital Banking & Innovation: Spearheaded the digital strategy and led fintech collaborations.

Operations & Collections: Played a key role in streamlining backend processes for faster processing and improved efficiency.

Risk, Compliance & Legal: Ensured all initiatives met regulatory standards.

Marketing & Customer Experience: Focused on customer onboarding, communication, and adoption strategies to drive engagement across digital channels.

This integrated team approach enabled the Bank to deliver impactful outcomes while navigating challenges and maintaining agility in execution.

What is your Vendor management strategy ?

The Bank has developed and nurtured inhouse engineering talent for powering various initiatives. Technology partners are engaged for specific manpower and technology skill requirements.

What will be RBL Bank’s focus on the digital front in H2, 2025-26 ?

The Bank has outlined several strategic initiatives for the second half of FY 2025-26.

As a part of the corporate banking transformation track, RBL Bank is advancing its mobile banking capabilities for corporate clients through the next phase of its BizBank application tailored to business needs. A key focus area is enabling seamless digital onboarding for Current Accounts, simplifying the account opening process and improving turnaround times for business customers.

In the cards segment, the Bank is preparing to introduce a new Forex Card product, designed to meet the evolving travel and foreign exchange needs of its customers with enhanced security.

The recent launch of Insignia, the Bank’s preferred banking proposition for business customers, marks a significant step in delivering curated services and relationship-led engagement for enterprises.