AI to Transform Financial Services Sector, says Bajaj Finserv MD

Sanjiv Bajaj, Chairman and Managing Director of Bajaj Finserv, says the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the financial services industry will likely result in either an even greater opportunity or an even larger threat than anything currently faced.

In addition to providing insight into the impact of AI beyond just lending, insurance, and asset management, Bajaj also described how the technology is already responsible for significant operational changes within these businesses.

Bajaj pointed out that Bajaj Finance has reduced the time taken to process a loan application to less than thirty seconds, while almost eighty-five percent of the company's marketing materials are now created using AI. Additionally, the firm has implemented the use of Conversational AI in its loan disbursement activities, which currently support English and Hindi, with plans to add ten more languages by 2024.

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Bajaj Finserv currently disburses around 4.5 million loans and six million insurance policies every month, supported by an app user base of over 80 million. Using conversational AI, customers are contacted, their requirements assessed, terms negotiated, and loans finalized end-to-end. Around 25,000 loans are already being processed this way each month, with cumulative values running into several hundred crore rupees.

Bajaj said AI could significantly lower transaction costs in mutual funds, making a ₹100 SIP viable by reducing expenses linked to video KYC and processing. He added that “AI will change this by bringing in greater efficiency.”

He acknowledged the risk of disruption to the working population, particularly in operational and supervisory roles, but stressed how new innovations would also create additional job opportunities. Bajaj also highlighted India’s strong digital foundation, crediting government-led infrastructure such as Unified Payments Interface for enabling low-cost, scalable financial inclusion nationwide.