While Budiman says he expects investments in emerging digital technologies, including AI, to increase over the next few years, he cautions that Maybank faces technological challenges that are unique to retail banking, specifically those related to poor data quality. To overcome these, Maybank merges internal data on transaction patterns with external consumer-spending data to develop more reliable business cases. Since data is the lifeblood of AI, ensuring bank data is accurate is of paramount importance.

Another challenge is attracting and retaining skilled labor in the regions where the bank operates. “It requires a lot of thinking about the way we manage our workforce—which is already mainly coming from Gen Z and millennials,” Budiman says. In Indonesia, for example, the demand for digital skills is extremely high while the supply remains limited, adding to the competitive environment.

When Budiman envisions the future of banking, he sees AI as central to offering accurate, tailored services based on deep insights into customer behavior and providing personalized experiences that help customers meet their financial goals. “You can have the greatest strategy, but if there aren’t customers who are satisfied with your product, then forget it,” he says.

Maybank has taken an early lead with its strategic embrace of AI, which promises to revolutionize the way financial institutions operate and serve their customers. “We are fully aware that this technology will play an even greater role in the future with regards to how we run our business,” he says.

Budiman believes that in the future, AI will enable ever-greater innovation, operational efficiencies, customer satisfaction, and value generation, which will allow it to invest even more into AI to better serve its customers and attract new ones.