Bank of Baroda expands phygital branch network as CEO flags cyber-fraud risk
Bank of Baroda has opened 30 phygital branches that pair self-service technology with human support. CEO Debadatta Chand said banks must invest more in cybersecurity, financial literacy and digital literacy as fraud risks rise, alongside the bank’s growing use of AI in customer engagement and operations.
What happened
Bank of Baroda CEO Debadatta Chand urged greater investment in cybersecurity, financial literacy and digital literacy amid rising fraud. The bank uses AI across
Key facts
- 30 phygital branches
Why this matters
Target partnerships or acquisitions in fraud prevention, identity verification, cybersecurity and digital-literacy platforms that strengthen assisted banking ecosystems.
What to watch
- RBI guidance or enforcement actions on digital fraud, customer liability, AI governance or assisted digital banking.
- Quarterly growth in Bank of Baroda phygital outlets and comparable rollout announcements from SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and regional banks.
- Reported fraud rates, especially UPI, impersonation, mule-account and remote-access scam losses.
- Adoption metrics for self-service transactions among senior, rural and first-time digital users.
- New requirements for biometric checks, transaction holds, confirmation calls or risk-based payment friction.
- Deploy fraud-risk prompts and staff escalation protocols at kiosks, assisted digital counters and mobile onboarding points.
- Measure phygital branch performance by successful digital adoption, fraud-loss prevention and repeat self-service use rather than transaction migration alone.
- Create segmented digital-literacy programs for seniors, rural customers, new account holders and high-value customers.
- Integrate AI customer-service tools with human review, explainability controls and real-time fraud monitoring.
- Partner with telecoms, fintechs and local institutions to run scam-awareness campaigns near new branch catchments.