Indian BFSI firms face CX execution gap as customer expectations outpace operational readiness

The sector is accelerating AI investments, but fragmented data, legacy systems, and workflow challenges continue to slow the transformation of the customer experience.

Indian banks, insurers, fintech firms and non-banking financial institutions are facing a growing customer experience challenge as rising expectations for real-time service begin to outpace their ability to deliver it.

While customer experience has become a boardroom priority across the BFSI sector, organisations continue to struggle with the operational foundations needed to translate AI investments and digital initiatives into tangible customer outcomes, according to a new study by Genesys and Dun & Bradstreet.

It highlights an important issue for technology providers, system integrators, cloud partners and customer experience specialists serving the BFSI market.

As organisations invest in AI-powered engagement, automation and digital channels, the focus is shifting from deploying technology to modernising the underlying systems, data environments and workflows that determine whether those investments succeed.

Customer expectations have evolved significantly, with most BFSI leaders reporting growing demand for faster resolutions, greater transparency and more proactive engagement.

However, the challenge is no longer simply about deploying new digital tools.

Organisations remain constrained by fragmented data environments, legacy infrastructure and integration complexities that limit their ability to deliver seamless customer experiences across channels.

For technology vendors and partners, this represents an opportunity as BFSI firms look beyond standalone applications towards broader modernisation programmes that connect customer engagement platforms with core business systems.

Agent productivity emerges as a key AI investment priority

Artificial intelligence is emerging as a central component of customer experience strategies across the sector.

The study found that improving agent productivity through AI has become one of the highest priorities for BFSI organisations over the next 12 to 18 months.

Yet the report also points to a widening gap between AI ambition and execution.

While organisations have launched AI initiatives, relatively few have successfully operationalised these deployments with the governance, workflows and performance frameworks needed to support enterprise-scale adoption.

This suggests the next phase of BFSI transformation will be less about experimenting with AI and more about integrating AI into day-to-day operations in a way that delivers measurable business outcomes.

For partners and service providers, the demand is shifting towards implementation, integration, governance and managed services capabilities rather than technology deployment alone.

Data emerges as the biggest obstacle

The report identifies data quality and fragmentation as one of the most significant barriers to customer experience modernisation. BFSI organisations continue to operate across multiple systems, applications and data repositories, making it difficult to create a unified view of customers and deliver consistent experiences across touchpoints.

Legacy core systems and integration challenges further complicate transformation efforts.

As a result, organisations often find themselves investing in new customer-facing technologies while still struggling with the operational realities behind the scenes.

According to Genesys’ vice president and managing director, India and SAARC, Raja Lakshmipathy, the next competitive advantage in BFSI will come from the ability to bring together people, data, AI and customer channels into a single experience orchestration model.

That view reflects a broader industry shift where customer experience is increasingly being viewed as an enterprise-wide transformation initiative rather than a standalone technology project.

The findings also point towards expanding opportunities for channel partners and technology service providers working with BFSI customers.

As organisations look to modernise customer engagement environments, demand is expected to increase for expertise across cloud migration, data integration, AI deployment, workflow automation, customer experience platforms and managed services.

The challenge facing BFSI organisations is no longer a lack of technology options.

Instead, the industry is entering a phase where success will depend on how effectively organisations can connect data, modernise operations and orchestrate customer experiences across increasingly complex digital environments.

For technology providers serving the sector, helping customers bridge that execution gap may prove to be one of the largest opportunities in the next phase of BFSI transformation.