A technology firm is leveraging an artificial intelligence-first approach to fundamentally reshape banking operations, addressing critical needs for enhanced security, efficiency, and regulatory compliance. The company, Hexaware Technologies, has developed a suite of AI-powered solutions that automate complex processes, combat sophisticated cyber threats, and ensure the stability of core banking systems, positioning itself as a key partner for financial institutions navigating digital transformation.
The initiative comes as the banking sector faces dual pressures: malicious actors are weaponizing AI to create smarter cyberattacks, while stringent regulatory requirements demand flawless execution of compliance tasks. By deploying intelligent automation, the company has demonstrated the ability to increase the efficiency of regulatory reporting by nearly 500 percent and reduce task completion times from a week to under an hour. This AI-led, human-perfected model is designed to augment rather than replace human expertise, enabling banks to become more resilient and responsive in an evolving digital landscape.
A Strategy of Proactive Defense
The contemporary threat landscape has evolved beyond traditional security breaches, with criminals now using AI to impersonate users and transactions with alarming accuracy. To counter this, Hexaware developed its Trust Framework, a security model that moves beyond conventional firewalls and antivirus software to focus on behavioral analysis. The system establishes personalized baselines for each user’s typical digital habits. It continuously monitors for deviations that could signal a compromised account.
For example, the framework learns if a customer habitually checks their balance immediately after logging in. If one day that user logs in and immediately initiates a transaction while skipping the balance check, the system flags the activity as anomalous. This method of behavioral cybersecurity allows for a more adaptive and rapid response to threats that might otherwise go unnoticed. It enables banks to fight AI-powered attacks with a similarly intelligent and proactive defense mechanism.
The Engine of Autonomous Operations
To manage the relentless demands of modern 24/7 banking, Hexaware employs its Tensai® framework, a digital-first platform built for extreme automation. This system creates a resilient operational environment where digital systems monitor other systems, removing the need for constant human oversight on routine tasks. This approach ensures that processes, from compliance checks to server operations, run autonomously.
Round-the-Clock Monitoring
The Tensai® framework operates on a tiered escalation model designed for both efficiency and reliability. When an issue is detected, an alert is automatically generated. Minor issues are often resolved instantly by the automation layer itself. More complex problems may be escalated to a digital “agentic framework” for management. Only the most critical alerts are triggered for a “human in the loop,” ensuring that expert attention is focused where it is most needed. This “AI watches AI” design creates a dependable and fatigue-free operational backbone.
A Modular AI Ecosystem
Tensai® is a comprehensive platform composed of six distinct, purpose-built modules that address the full spectrum of IT needs: Agility, Efficiency, Experience, Assurance, Operations, and GenAI. This modularity allows it to boost software release speeds, increase system uptime, lower cloud computing costs, and safeguard quality. The GenAI module functions as a sophisticated knowledge base powered by GPT-4, which automates the capture and delivery of operational guidance, making information retrieval faster and more accurate across the institution. This integrated ecosystem has been adopted by institutions like the Bank of Sydney to drive new levels of enterprise efficiency and experience.
Quantifying the Transformation
The adoption of intelligent automation is delivering measurable and dramatic returns for financial institutions. By applying generative and agentic AI to core business functions, Hexaware has transformed workflows that were once manual, time-consuming, and prone to error into streamlined, rapid, and scalable operations.
Revolutionizing Regulatory Reporting
One of the most significant impacts has been in regulatory reporting, a critical and resource-intensive function for all banks. The infusion of generative AI has increased the efficiency of this process by close to 500 percent, according to company data. Tasks that traditionally required eight to 10 working days of manual effort are now consistently completed in less than one hour. This leap in productivity not only accelerates compliance but also enhances accuracy and allows banks to respond instantly to new regulations or policy changes.
Ensuring System Integrity
As banks modernize their legacy systems, ensuring quality across thousands of digital integrations is a monumental challenge. To address this, Hexaware provides an AI-powered autonomous testing platform named ATOP, for Autonomous Test Orchestration Platform. ATOP leverages machine learning and natural language processing to make the testing process independent, self-learning, and self-healing. It validates every aspect of a digital transformation in real time, from business logic and API integrations to data migration integrity. The platform has been shown to reduce quality assurance efforts by 40 to 70 percent, deliver a four-fold increase in the speed of testing cycles, and achieve zero critical defect slippage into production environments.
The Human-Centric Automation Model
Despite the focus on advanced technology, the company’s guiding philosophy is “AI-led, human intelligence-perfected.” This approach strategically avoids a model of complete automation that removes human involvement. Instead, it positions AI as an enabler that serves to amplify human capabilities. The agentic AI frameworks are designed to handle repetitive decision loops and administrative tasks autonomously, freeing up financial professionals to concentrate on strategic analysis, customer relationships, and critical judgments that require nuanced understanding. This balanced blend of cognitive automation and expert human oversight helps foster trust in the systems and ensures that technology serves the institution’s primary goals without supplanting its most valuable intellectual assets.
A Targeted Approach to Market Growth
Hexaware has centered its business strategy on the mid-market banking segment, where organizations often seek to derive maximum value from more restricted budgets. The company’s approach is to first establish proof of value before entering into longer-term partnerships. According to Sandip Ganguly, Vice President & Country Head for Australia and New Zealand, the company is often willing to invest its own resources upfront to demonstrate its capabilities and impact. This value-first tactic helps build trust and secure a “seat at the table” with clients who might otherwise be hesitant to commit to large-scale transformation projects. By acting as a full-service provider tailored to the needs of the mid-market, Hexaware has created a distinct positioning in a competitive field, helping a broader range of financial institutions evolve with the advancements in artificial intelligence.
