In this exclusive interview with Express Computer, Ashish Shrivastava, Head of Digital Engineering at Finance Software and Systems (FSS) Pvt Ltd., sheds light on the company’s transformative role in the banking and payment sectors. With over three decades of leadership in digital transformation, FSS has become a global powerhouse, driving innovation in payment processing, automation, AI, and cloud-based solutions for over 200 banks across the globe. Shrivastava shares insights into FSS’s cutting-edge offerings, including AI-driven solutions, the next-generation Blaze Payment Platform, and how the company is shaping the future of financial services with a focus on UPI, digital wallets, and financial inclusion. The conversation dives into key challenges like system uptime, the evolving landscape of cloud technology, and FSS’s commitment to re-engineering business processes to meet the demands of modern banking. As India heads towards 2030, FSS is positioning itself at the forefront of innovations, building strategic collaborations and investing heavily in research to define the future of payments.
FSS has been at the forefront of digital transformation for over three decades. Can you share how FSS is currently driving digital transformation and business process reengineering across various industries, particularly in the banking sector?
FSS has been transforming the banking sector for the last 30 years; we are supporting more than 200 banks in multiple countries in the Middle East, South Africa, North America, and Europe. Digital transformation and business process reengineering (BPR) are critical in the banking domain, as financial institutions face increasing competition, regulatory pressures, and evolving customer expectations.
Digital transformation in banking refers to the integration of digital technology into all areas of the institution, fundamentally changing how banks operate and deliver value to customers. These initiatives aimed at modernising infrastructure, enhancing customer experience, and streamlining operations via automation. This helps us quickly adapt to market changes and introduce new products.
We are working towards mobile banking solutions, digital wallets, AI-driven chatbots, and personalised financial services to enhance the customer experience. Various banking processes, like the payment process, card management system, recon process, loan approvals, fraud detection, and compliance checks, are increasingly automated using AI and machine learning. Advance Predictive Realtime Data Analytics improve decision-making, predictive modeling, risk assessment, and customer insights. Seamless Omnichannel Banking: experience across multiple platforms (online, mobile, in-branch) ensures a consistent and integrated customer journey.
BPR is the radical redesign of core business processes to achieve significant improvements in productivity, cycle times, and quality. Real-time payment processing systems to reduce delays and improve the customer experience. Improving risk assessment procedures by incorporating data analytics and AI tools to better predict and mitigate potential risks. Loan Processing: redesigning the loan approval process by automating credit checks, reducing paperwork, and speeding up approvals. Simplifying compliance reporting through automated data collection and submission to reduce the time and costs associated with regulatory adherence.
Digital transformation focuses on leveraging technology to improve all facets of banking operations; BPR zeroes in on rethinking and redesigning specific processes. In practice, both strategies often complement each other in the banking domain. While implementing the same, we are managing legacy systems, cultural resistance, and regulatory constraints.
How is FSS leveraging AI, machine learning, and automation to enhance payment processing efficiency, security, and customer experience? Are there any standout use cases or innovations in the pipeline?
Leveraging AI, machine learning (ML), and automation in payment processing can significantly enhance efficiency, security, and customer experience. These technologies can streamline operations, reduce errors, detect fraud, and provide a seamless user experience. This can optimise payment workflows by reducing the time and effort required for transactions, as well as minimising human intervention.
Machine learning algorithms can analyse transaction data and automatically route payments through the fastest and most cost-effective payment channels, optimising for factors such as transaction fees, processing times, and currency exchange rates.
Automation enables real-time payment systems, reducing delays associated with manual processing. AI models can monitor and predict system loads, ensuring continuous processing during peak times. AI-powered systems can automatically validate and clear transactions without manual intervention, enabling seamless and faster settlement between banks and clearinghouses.
AI and ML algorithms can analyse vast amounts of transaction data in real-time to detect patterns indicative of fraud. Machine learning models can flag unusual behaviours, such as large or suspicious transactions, out-of-location payments, or unusual device usage, reducing fraud incidents.
ML can track user behaviour over time to establish a normal spending pattern for individual customers. Any deviation from this pattern (e.g., sudden large purchases, unusual locations) can trigger alerts. Real-time anomaly detection can block suspicious transactions before they are processed by identifying inconsistencies in payment behavior. AI-based facial recognition, fingerprint scanning, or voice recognition can be integrated into payment systems for stronger, multi-factor authentication, ensuring the identity of users initiating the transaction. AI can optimise routing to reduce exposure to vulnerabilities, choosing the safest network pathways based on historical security data.
AI and automation can transform customer interactions, offering more personalised, frictionless experiences while increasing convenience. AI can analyse customer preferences and behaviour to offer personalised payment recommendations, such as preferred payment methods (e.g., credit cards, digital wallets) or automatic bill payments tailored to their preferences.
AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants can guide customers through transactions, answer questions, and troubleshoot issues in real time. ML models can speed up approval processes for high-value or cross-border payments by assessing risk factors in real time. AI-driven systems can automatically review customer disputes over failed or erroneous payments and process refunds or adjustments more swiftly, improving response times and customer satisfaction.
We manage approx. 25000 ATMs across India. We implemented multiple AI and ML solutions for managing the same along with an with an IOT-based solution also. We are using computer vision AI models for detecting site cleanliness, shutterdown cases, blurred images, a disoriented camera, darkness on the face, human presence, footfall, etc. in any ATM. We are using predictive models for forecasting future transaction volumes (FSS—bank level, industry), predicting cash demand at ATM level (SBI, HDFC), predicting penalty deductions for disputed transactions, and detecting and alerting to emails using Microsoft AI tools and Power BI. This is increasing uptime for ATMs and improving brand image for banks.
FSS has a 33-year legacy of innovation in the payments space. What are some of the key products and services launched over the years that have had a lasting impact, and how are these offerings evolving to meet modern banking needs?
Being 33 years in industry, we are providing various banking solutions related to acquiring and issuance business. We have multiple products for banking services like Payment Gateway, DCMS, PCMS, MAPS, RTP, CBDC, UPI, AEPS, ADM, Filex, Switch, etc. We are providing solutions to more than 200 banks across the globe. Highest card processing SBI bank uses our Card Management Solution. Similarly largest private bank HDFC using our Payment Gateway solution. India Post uses our 11 various products to run India Post operations. Our Banking Switch solution is used by the Central Bank of India, KVB, IDFC, etc. Our highly automated AI-driven Recon application is running on various banks.
FSS builds a new payment platform Blaze with microservice architecture on a cloud platform via GenAI. Apart from the banking process, automated workflows provide flexibility to onboard any product on the platform. Easy and faster implementation will give flexibility for faster launches of products and services. We started implementation with leading public and private banks. This platform covers all the needs for modernised banking.
Frequent system downtimes and glitches are major challenges for banks today. How is FSS helping banks overcome these issues with solutions that ensure uptime, stability, and improved customer experience?
Frequent system downtimes and glitches are critical challenges for banks, as they can lead to operational disruptions, lost revenue, and, most importantly, diminished customer trust. To overcome these issues, banks need to implement robust strategies and technologies that ensure uptime, stability, and an improved customer experience.
Traditional, on-premise infrastructure can be prone to outages due to hardware failures or limited capacity. Cloud computing offers flexibility, scalability, and high availability. To minimise downtimes and glitches, proactive monitoring and predictive maintenance are essential. AI and machine learning tools can predict potential issues before they become critical. Traditional monolithic systems are more prone to downtimes because a failure in one part of the system can bring down the entire application. Shifting to a microservices architecture can improve system stability and resilience. To ensure uptime, banks need robust disaster recovery (DR) and high availability (HA) solutions that can quickly restore services during an outage. Manual processes often contribute to delays and downtimes. Automating key IT operations can reduce errors, speed up recovery time, and improve system availability.
To overcome frequent system downtimes and glitches, we are supporting banks to adopt cloud infrastructure, AI-driven predictive maintenance, microservices architecture, high availability and disaster recovery solutions, automation of IT operations, and continuous monitoring. These solutions collectively enhance system uptime, stability, and customer experience, ensuring smooth and secure banking operations. Proactively addressing potential issues will help banks maintain customer trust and avoid costly disruptions.
Cloud-based solutions are becoming increasingly critical in banking infrastructure. How does FSS view the adoption of cloud technology, and what role do you see it playing in transforming banking operations in the near future?
Cloud-based solutions are becoming foundational in transforming banking operations due to their ability to provide scalability, security, agility, and cost efficiency. It is transforming banking operations by enabling scalability, improving cost efficiency, enhancing security, driving innovation, and ensuring business continuity. In the near future, the cloud will continue to play a pivotal role in modernising banking infrastructure, improving customer experience, and enabling rapid innovation. As banks increasingly rely on cloud technologies, they will become more agile, secure, and customer-centric, allowing them to meet the evolving demands of the digital age.
Contrary to early concerns about data security, leading cloud providers now offer cutting-edge security solutions that often exceed what traditional, on-premise data centers can provide. Cloud-based solutions enable banks to strengthen security while also simplifying compliance with complex regulations like GDPR, PCI DSS, and AML (anti-money laundering) standards.
Cloud computing is a key enabler of digital transformation in banking, allowing banks to experiment with emerging technologies, deliver innovative products, and adopt new business models more easily. Banks can leverage cloud-based platforms to integrate AI, ML, blockchain, and big data analytics into their operations.
Cloud-based solutions play a vital role in enhancing disaster recovery and ensuring business continuity for banks. Traditional disaster recovery setups can be complex and expensive, but cloud-based disaster recovery offers a more streamlined, cost-effective solution with faster recovery times.
The cloud’s ability to process vast amounts of data in real time allows banks to leverage advanced analytics and insights to improve decision-making, risk management, and customer service.
Looking ahead to 2030 and beyond, how do you foresee the evolution of India’s payment system, particularly with the growth of UPI, digital banking, and financial inclusion initiatives? How is FSS positioning itself to support this rapidly changing landscape?
India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has already revolutionised the domestic payments landscape. By 2030, UPI will likely dominate further, not just domestically but internationally as well. UPI is expected to expand beyond India’s borders, allowing Indians to conduct seamless transactions in foreign countries and for international customers to interact with Indian merchants through UPI. Advanced features on UPI like voice-activated payments and wearable-based payments will likely become more common. Offline UPI will allow people in low-connectivity areas to transact without internet access, ensuring no one is left out of the digital economy.
Digital banking will continue to expand, with banks moving towards becoming full-fledged financial ecosystems that cater to a wide variety of services beyond traditional banking. Neobanks—fully digital, branchless banks—will see rapid growth, offering consumers a seamless, mobile-first banking experience. Open Banking will mature in India, allowing customers to securely share their financial data across services and banks. Hyper-Personalisation: Banks will use AI to provide hyper-personalized services, recommending loans, savings schemes, and investment options tailored to individual spending patterns, income, and financial goals. Customers will get tailored insights and nudges based on their behaviors.
By 2030, financial inclusion efforts, particularly under government schemes, will further extend the reach of the formal financial system to the underbanked and unbanked segments, leveraging cutting-edge technology. With rising internet penetration and cheaper mobile phones, UPI and digital wallets will penetrate deeper into rural areas. Financial Literacy Programs: Targeted initiatives, including AI-powered chatbots in regional languages, will educate rural and unbanked populations on digital banking, lending, insurance, and savings schemes.
Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mechanisms will be streamlined through UPI and digital banking channels, ensuring faster, more efficient, and transparent disbursement of government benefits, pensions, and subsidies to rural populations. Micro-lending platforms powered by AI will provide access to microloans with low interest rates for small businesses, farmers, and underserved communities. Data from digital payments, mobile usage, and social behavior will inform credit scoring, allowing for better financial inclusion.
By 2030, biometric payments (e.g., fingerprint, facial recognition, and retina scans) will become widely adopted. India’s Aadhaar biometric system will integrate more deeply into payment infrastructures, enabling seamless biometric authentication for transactions, particularly useful for older adults and people with limited literacy.
Payments will extend beyond smartphones to smartwatches, fitness trackers, and other wearable devices, enhancing convenience for users on the go. IoT-enabled devices like smart fridges and connected cars will have built-in payment functionality, allowing transactions to happen automatically.
QR Code and NFC Ubiquity: QR codes will continue to be a dominant method of payment, but Near-Field Communication (NFC) payments via mobile devices or wearables will see increased adoption due to faster transaction times and growing merchant infrastructure. The rise of embedded finance—where financial services are integrated into non-financial platforms—will further transform how consumers interact with financial services.
With India actively exploring Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the country will likely adopt new forms of digital currencies that will coexist with traditional payment methods, making cross-border transactions and digital payments more efficient. The RBI’s digital currency is expected to enhance the security and efficiency of digital transactions. A programmable digital rupee could revolutionize government payments (e.g., subsidies) and enable smart contracts that automate complex payment processes. India will be at the forefront of simplifying cross-border payments by integrating UPI with global payment systems and leveraging the CBDC for faster, transparent, and cost-effective international transactions. While cryptocurrency regulation remains cautious, by 2030, India may allow regulated use of certain cryptocurrencies or blockchain-based payment solutions for select international trade or financial services.
Looking above context FSS builds an innovation hub that is working on various latest technologies and trying to build solutions that will be relevant in the future. Blaze Payment Platform is using all the latest technology to cover all the above features in banking and payment solutions. Apart from in-house hardcore payment specialists, we are making multiple tie-ups with various technology partners also for enhancing the payment solutions. Various discussions with government agencies like RBI, NPCI, and other regulators are on for finding a more robust solution and future approach for the payment process in India. There are heavy investments in research and development for designing the new products, and a and a large team of hard-core engineers is involved in making future products and services.