What began as back end support hubs are now becoming central to how global banks and financial institutions operate, as India based global capability centres in the BFSI sector take on deeper and more strategic responsibilities.
For years, BFSI GCCs were mainly focused on cost efficiency, operational support and business continuity. That role is now expanding. With financial services facing digital disruption and growing regulatory pressure, many India centres are being trusted with decisions that directly influence platforms, products and customer engagement across global markets. Leaders say these centres now act as controlled spaces where new technologies can be tested safely within strict regulatory and data privacy frameworks. “What we typically do in GCCs is, whenever there is a new technology, we provide a safe space for people to experiment. You enable an environment for them to play around, while ensuring guardrails around data privacy and regulation,” said Snigdha G. Ray, vice president at Diebold Nixdorf.
These experiments often begin with internal efficiency and productivity improvements and later move into customer facing areas. Ray said such initiatives eventually support fraud management, risk modelling and the development of new financial products. “Those are the ones that have a direct impact on customers…on how you engage consumers and sell different financial products,” she said. Jinya Suzuki, CEO at MUFG Global Service, highlighted how centralising platforms and talent in India has helped banks roll out technology faster and more consistently worldwide. “The order system is now centralised in India and the talent is put into one place. We implemented a new technology here and it is also being rolled out to other regions,” Suzuki said.
Cost discipline is also shaping how innovation happens. Leaders noted that experimentation now needs to be funded through operational efficiency. “Gone are the days of endless budgets for experimentation. Today, the key is how you stabilise delivery and customer processes so you can fund innovation yourself,” Ray said. Automation, cloud adoption, low code and no code platforms and AI are increasingly being used to balance agility with compliance. Suzuki added that managing efficiency while maintaining strong data governance remains a work in progress for many organisations. “It is a balance…on how we manage efficiency and how we manage data governance,” he said.
Talent is emerging as the biggest long term advantage for BFSI GCCs. A recent industry report noted that investment banking GCCs offer the highest pay across technology and data roles, with specialised talent commanding the top compensation. Ray stressed that deep domain knowledge is critical. “In our sector, domain knowledge is extremely important. It’s not just tech talent. You need people who understand compliance and regulations globally,” she said. Suzuki added that global exposure helps attract and retain skilled professionals. “One of the drivers to attract talent is that we send top talent to Tokyo, the US, or the UK to develop advanced technologies. At the same time, GCCs centralise innovation, giving people a place to try new challenges,” he said.
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