Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Tuesday that banks succeeding with artificial intelligence will be those that understand its applications and ensure accountability, not necessarily those that adopt it most aggressively. Speaking at the FIBAC 2026 conference, he said AI adoption requires a fundamental change in how financial institutions assess risks, serve customers, allocate capital and manage operations. Malhotra highlighted India’s advantage in deploying AI due to its advanced public digital infrastructure, citing Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker and ONDC as foundations for private sector innovation. He also mentioned the Unified Lending Interface and the Account Aggregator framework as examples enabling AI-based solutions. He said AI could transform financial decision-making the way UPI changed digital payments, expanding human intelligence rather than just enhancing physical capabilities. Malhotra stressed that successful AI implementation requires institutions to maintain clear ownership of outcomes, ensuring technology aligns with customer interests, risk management practices and regulatory expectations. He also reviewed progress on priorities from the previous year’s conference, including financial stability, customer-focused banking, ease of doing business and reducing costs linked to financial intermediation, noting improvements across these areas. His comments come as financial institutions globally increase AI investments in fraud detection, lending decisions, customer support and operational efficiency.