Cooperative banks can successfully compete with larger lenders by combining technology with their traditional strengths of trust and personalized service, said Ravinder Singh, Managing Director of SVC Cooperative Bank, at the Bharat Cooperative Banking Summit held in Lucknow on Saturday.
Speaking during a session on Core Banking Modernization for Cooperative Banking, Singh said cooperative banks must upgrade their digital capabilities to attract younger customers while retaining their relationship-driven approach.
“Our strength lies in decades-old customer trust and relationships. However, the younger generation expects seamless mobile banking, faster services, and instant account opening,” he said.
Singh revealed that technology adoption has significantly boosted business growth, with the bank’s premium account segment expanding nearly fourfold over the past two years.
He also emphasized the importance of leveraging customer data and analytics. “Banks possess enormous amounts of data. Understanding transaction patterns and customer behaviour can help deliver more relevant products and services,” he said.
Singh noted that customer expectations vary across age groups and cooperative banks must increasingly use data analytics to understand changing customer needs and offer tailored banking solutions.
Highlighting emerging opportunities, he said artificial intelligence and analytics can strengthen customer engagement, risk management, and anti-money laundering (AML) monitoring.
“The human touch built by cooperative banks over decades cannot be matched by private or public sector banks. Technology should strengthen that advantage, not replace it,” he added.
