Asia Pacific (APAC) bankers signaled a strategy shift, while their counterparts in Australia remain focused on cost optimization, diverging from the regional trend. Insights in the fourth edition of the Infosys Bank Tech Index revealed that innovation to enhance competitiveness is gaining traction across APAC (Figure 1A), with the notable exception in Australia (Figure 1B). This result comes against the backdrop of AI and cybersecurity emerging as the most prominent technologies in banking – and recruitment of talent in these areas being particularly challenging.
Source: Infosys Bank Tech Index, Volume 4
Cost Transformation and Innovation is Symbiotic
Achieving sustained and significant savings from downturn-driven cost reduction is challenging. Primarily this is because these efforts are typically short-term and limited to specific functions, rather than being an organisation-wide continuous commitment to efficiency and cost optimization. It can also be highly detrimental to growth when the cost focus comes at the expense of innovation. Leading banks strike a balance between reducing costs and fostering innovation to ensure that efficiency is consistently enhanced, while driving growth.
Our clients with a combined continuous cost transformation and AI-first approach for example, are strengthening operational resilience, leading to stable, long-term business success . These organisations are powering efficiency by increasing the performance of their workforce – with human oversight of AI to ensure fairness, accuracy and compliance with standards. At Infosys, we see AI-driven advancements in software development boosting productivity by 7% to 15% — nearly 7 million lines of code have been written by 18,000 developers. We have seen how AI can amplify potential. To this effect, Infosys employees have AI assistants tailored to their specific role and department. Early results from an AI-first approach show high optimisation of operations; improved ability to predict and be a first mover as markets change, accelerated growth – and sharper risk mitigation, including compliance.
Differentiation Hinges on Rapid Innovation
Over a thousand banks operate across APAC, each vying for a larger slice of mindshare. While a bank’s size and historic reputation may have once determined customer trust and loyalty, today’s priorities are convenience and relevant benefits. To meet this demand, powerful technology is vital, along with expert talent to drive rapid innovation in services and offerings, ahead of the competition.
Infosys research shows however that the difficulty score for recruiting tech talent in AI and cybersecurity remains high. In many APAC countries the talent challenge for banks is now paramount. Australia, for example, is ranked fourth globally for talent deficits, particularly in technology, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI). In 2025, nearly 83% of employers in Singapore say they face an acute shortage of talent.
Skills Grow with Powerful Partnerships
Infosys collaborates with many clients who leverage our learning platforms to rapidly upskill employees in new tech – and we also work with communities to build tech awareness. A unique example of this is our partnership with a charity called Street Child to create seven Digital Learning Centers (DLCs) in Ukraine. These secured physical spaces are equipped for online learning and a digital transformation program, leveraging Infosys Springboard, our digital learning platform, to provide tailored courses for students and teachers.
Partnerships provide organisations with the flexibility to adopt technologies rapidly and the proven expertise to mitigate first-mover risks. This approach also drives cross-pollination of ideas. Bringing together diverse perspectives and expertise fosters innovation through the exchange of ideas. Infosys has 270,000 employees who are generative AI-aware. This is across departments, not just our engineers. When teams can include members from diverse backgrounds, more voices have input, creating richer outcomes suited to more people in our community.
AI-First Innovation is Reshaping Financial Services
With access to expert AI talent to drive innovation, our clients are embedding AI across their banks. While AI may initially focus on driving efficiency, its true differentiation lies in solving complex problems and providing the agility needed to capture growth opportunities from market changes. Our strategy for an AI-first bank is focused on three key components: the foundation, the core and growth.
DBS Bank in Singapore exemplifies a successful digital transformation strategy, built around three key pillars: becoming digital to the core, deeply embedding itself in the customer journey and embracing a startup-like operational culture. By transitioning to the cloud and adopting open-source APIs and microservices, DBS established a robust digital foundation. This strategic overhaul yielded significant financial benefits, including cost savings of SGD30 million and a revenue boost of SGD150 million in 2022, underscoring the bank’s commitment to innovation and efficiency. This digital transformation strategy has equipped the bank to use AI to quickly disburse SME loans and detect at-risk loans months before they became a credit risk.
To stay ahead of the curve, it is crucial for banks to combine cost reduction with a strong synergetic focus on innovation. Trusted partnerships can provide the ecosystem of support to achieve this seamlessly and combat shortages in diverse skills. Ultimately, to be an AI-first bank, the culture of innovation must be nurtured with expert guardrails to ensure confidence, minimise risk – and scale ideas at speed. It is important for a bank to have a coherent, enterprise-wide AI strategy. A piecemeal approach to AI implementation can result in workstreams being left behind. AI adoption and the resulting benefits are amplified with a unified transformation strategy.
The Infosys report, Infosys Bank Tech Index, includes data from the referenced survey as well as further insights.
About the Author:
Andrew Groth
Executive Vice President, Industry Head – Financial Services, Region Head – Asia Pacific
Andrew is the Region Head for Infosys AsiaPac and is part of the Global Financial Services Executive. Having lived and worked across Europe, Asia Pacific and the United States, Andrew has rich strategic experience with many of the largest organisations in the world – including major financial institutions. Andrew is a Senior Associate of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance, a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management.