Seven out of 10 chief data officers (CDOs) report using AI actively at their banks, with 30% having reached scaled deployment according to Zeta's 2026 survey of 40 C-suite executives across 18 major Indian banks and non-banking financial companies. However, adoption remains constrained to low-stakes, reviewable tasks like customer support, fraud detection, document handling and software quality assurance. The survey reveals that when it comes to end-to-end operational workflows or high-consequence decision-making, deployment drops off sharply, indicating a cautious approach to AI implementation in critical banking functions.
SBI Chairman CS Setty has warned that banks may soon face an 'AI versus AI' environment, where financial institutions must defend against AI-powered threats using AI itself. Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest 2026, Setty emphasized that real-time risk assessment will require lenders to combine identity, behavioural and transactional intelligence as AI systems cannot operate with a 99% accuracy threshold when customer funds and financial security are at stake. This represents a fundamental shift from traditional AI applications to defensive AI capabilities that can counter emerging threats in the financial sector.
Ant International has partnered with Visa and Mastercard to develop common standards for identifying and monitoring AI agents making payments, marking a significant step in the global adoption of agentic AI in financial services. According to CNBC, the companies are working on an interoperable 'Know Your Agent' framework designed to let merchants and payment providers verify which AI agents are behind transactions and whether they are authorized to act. Jiang-Ming Yang, chief innovation officer at Ant International, emphasized that 'Trust is the foundation of the AI transformation' as agents gain more authority over financial transactions. The collaboration addresses the growing need for consistent identity verification across different payment platforms, with Yang noting that 'If [an] agent registers with Ant, they don't need to register again with Visa, Mastercard.'
State Bank of India chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty has proposed a new framework called 'Know Your Agent' to address the growing use of agentic AI in financial services. According to reports from The Economic Times, Setty highlighted this need at the Global Fintech Fest 2026, suggesting that as AI agents begin participating in financial transactions, banks will increasingly need to develop mechanisms similar to the decades-old Know Your Customer (KYC) framework. The proposed framework would include clear mechanisms around an AI agent's identity, authentication, consent, transaction limits, audit trails and revocation capabilities. SBI has already been using conventional AI and machine learning across several parts of banking, including early adopters of AI for pre-approved personal loans, while its use has expanded into credit assessment, cash-flow-based lending, early-warning systems, fraud detection, anti-money laundering monitoring and proactive risk management. The next phase involves agentic AI, which Setty said could allow technology to act on behalf of customers and institutions rather than simply provide information or recommendations.
Setty called for a broader coalition involving regulators, banks, fintechs and technology companies to build the required trust and scale as agentic AI enters banking. According to The Economic Times, he identified India's next opportunity as moving from digital inclusion to 'intelligent inclusion' by making intelligent financial services available at population scale. For India, he argued that the opportunity extends beyond developing larger AI models, as models need to understand the country's diversity and specific economic conditions, making AI built in India for India a potential strategic capability with applications across emerging markets. The real promise of agentic AI is demonstrating financial intelligence, Setty said, while highlighting its potential to democratise access to financial decision-making. However, scaling AI in banking will come with its own costs and risks, with Setty noting that the industry will need more affordable computing and cybersecurity infrastructure as AI adoption expands.
