Transforming Banking with Tech: The CIO’s Perspective

The role of technology in banking has moved from support function to strategic driver. Once tasked merely with “keeping the lights on,” today’s CIO is expected to shape business strategy, drive digital transformation, and build revenue-generating ecosystems.

In a recent fireside chat, Vishal Singh, CIO of Suryoday Small Finance Bank, offered an inside look at how technology leaders are navigating this shift—from moving away from outsourced models, to building fintech partnerships, to unlocking the power of data and AI. His journey reflects how banks can become truly agile and future-ready.

When Suryoday began its journey as a small finance bank in 2017, the outsourced “bank-in-a-box” model was the logical choice. Cost efficiency and speed mattered more than customization.

But as the market evolved, so did expectations. Regulations tightened, customer needs grew more complex, and agility became non-negotiable. By 2020, the bank began shifting technology in-house, enabling:

Faster compliance responses to regulatory updates.
Greater agility in building new digital products.
Ownership of tech architecture, reducing dependency on external partners.

As Singh puts it: “Banks cannot afford to be slow movers anymore. Agility is survival.”

The modern CIO isn’t just a tech custodian—they’re a business enabler. At Suryoday, technology leaders now co-own business targets alongside traditional functions.

This shift means:

CIOs directly influence growth numbers through digital channels.
Business scaling depends on the CIO’s ability to deliver tech solutions at speed.
CIOs must balance being “IT leaders” with being business strategists.

Singh himself describes being seen “more as a business guy than a tech guy”—a reflection of how integral CIOs have become to growth and revenue.

No bank can innovate in isolation. Recognizing this, Suryoday invested early in an enterprise middleware layer a decision that allowed seamless API-driven integration with fintech partners.

Key lessons from their approach:

Build once, use everywhere: Standardized APIs mean partners can plug in quickly without duplicating efforts.
Speed matters: The bank has gone live with fintech journeys in as little as 25 days, a timeline once unthinkable in traditional banking.
Set boundaries: Clear compliance requirements and non-negotiable standards ensure partnerships scale responsibly.

This “positive aggression,” as Singh describes it, has earned Suryoday a reputation among fintechs as a fast-moving, collaborative partner.

Looking ahead, Singh outlined three focus areas that will shape the bank’s digital evolution:

Data Strategy – With massive volumes of customer data, banks must move beyond collection to meaningful utilization for cross-sell, personalization, and risk insights.
AI & ML Use Cases – Beyond chatbots, the real opportunity lies in areas like fraud detection, risk management, and compliance automation. But adoption must be cost-justified for smaller banks.

Open Source Adoption – Inspired by NPCI’s UPI success, the bank aims to reduce reliance on expensive licensed software and pivot towards open-source technologies for scalability and cost efficiency.

The fireside chat underscored a bigger reality: CIOs are now at the core of banking transformation. Their role extends across compliance, customer experience, product innovation, and revenue growth.

As Singh aptly summarized: “The faster you change, the faster your business can grow.”

The CIO’s perspective is no longer limited to IT infrastructure—it’s about building digital-first, agile, and customer-centric banks. By owning both technology and business outcomes, CIOs like Vishal Singh are proving that the future of banking will be defined by tech leadership, strong partnerships, and data-driven innovation.