FinTech LIVE Dubai: Santander’s CTO Digital Edge fireside
During a fireside chat at FinTech LIVE Dubai 2025, Jas Narang, Chief Transformation Officer and Director of Financial Crime at Santander, offered an incisive view into the future of digital banking.
In the session titled The Future of Digital Banking, Jas tackled major industry trends head-on, from financial crime prevention to the evolving role of artificial intelligence in banking.
How legacy banks are leading digital innovation
Opening the discussion, Jas addressed a familiar question: Are we seeing the end of legacy banks? “Definitely not,” he stated.
Santander, he explained, continues to thrive globally by maintaining competitiveness and adapting to new market demands.
“We don’t sit on our laurels just because we have millions of loyal customers,” he said.
Rather than viewing their legacy infrastructure as a disadvantage, Jas positioned Santander’s physical presence as a strength.
While neobanks operate purely online, Santander leverages its branch network to serve customers who still value face-to-face interaction, alongside a growing digital offering designed to compete head-to-head with fintechs.
“The offering on the digital channel for us cannot just compete with the fintechs, but surpass them in quick time to come,” he said, crediting Santander’s data capabilities and customer insight as key differentiators.
Fighting financial crime with AI
Jas highlighted Santander’s innovative use of technology in combating financial crime, a personal priority in his role.
One standout example is the bank’s deployment of artificial intelligence to detect and prevent human trafficking.
Implemented in the UK, this technology has proven so effective that it attracted praise from the National Crime Agency.
Santander is also investing heavily in tools to prevent fraud and scams, integrating behavioural biometrics and AI-driven analytics.
“We’ve gone from being in the bottom quartile to the top quartile globally in fraud prevention over the past 18 to 24 months,” Jas said, crediting both internal innovation and strategic partnerships with leading technology firms.
This commitment extends to customer safety at every touchpoint. “Security is one of the key factors,” he explained.
Jas pointed out that customers now choose banks not only for interest rates or products, but also for service quality and security throughout the lifecycle of their relationship.
Preparing for the next era of banking
Looking forward, Jas spoke about the increasing importance of hyper-personalisation—something Santander is pursuing by using customer data to tailor services and products.
“Traditionally, established banks have struggled to monetise their customer data. That’s changing very rapidly,” he said.
Emerging technologies like embedded finance and stablecoins present both challenges and opportunities.
While Jas acknowledged the uncertainty around regulation, he remains optimistic about Santander’s ability to adapt.
“The core infrastructure we've already built will come in handy to accelerate deployment as the thinking develops.”
He also pointed to the UAE and Gulf states as emerging leaders in fintech innovation, praising the pace and ambition of digital banking in the region.
“We keep a close eye on developments in that space and look to bring in outside-in thinking,” he noted.
On AI, Jas expects a more chaotic and rapid pace of deployment in the next three to five years, stressing that the focus should not be on the tools themselves but on how well they align with a bank’s internal capabilities and strategic ambitions.
Jas closed the conversation with three takeaways.
- A relentless focus on customers and their evolving needs.
- The strength of combining physical and digital channels.
- The importance of trust, especially in moments that matter to customers.
“It's not just about the product offering. It’s about how you retain the customer through service, security, and trust,” he said.
As digital banking advances, Santander’s approach—rooted in agility, personalisation and partnership—positions the bank not only to stay relevant, but to lead.
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