Federal Bank Teams Up with Bhashini to Add Vernacular Support to Chatbot Feddy

Federal Bank has signed an MoU with Bhashini, an AI-powered language translation platform, to integrate vernacular language support into its AI chatbot, Feddy. This collaboration, inspired by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub’s (RBIH) initiative for local language banking, aims to make banking services more inclusive and accessible across India. The enhancement allows Feddy to assist users in 14 Indian languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, and Marathi, among others. This move is seen as a crucial step toward bridging language barriers in financial services.

Collaboration Overview

The partnership between Federal Bank and Bhashini boosts Feddy’s capabilities, enabling it to handle queries in multiple Indian languages, which is expected to improve customer experience. Federal Bank’s Executive Director, Shalini Warrier, emphasized the importance of this initiative in serving India’s diverse linguistic landscape.

Bhashini’s Role

Bhashini, through its voice-first multilingual technology, ensures that users can interact with Feddy in their preferred language. Bhashini’s CEO, Amitabh Nag, expressed the vision of using AI-driven solutions to foster inclusivity in fintech.

Support from RBIH

RBIH’s CEO, Rajesh Bansal, highlighted the significance of digital financial inclusion, emphasizing that local language banking is key to ensuring a broader reach of the digital revolution across India. This initiative aligns with RBIH’s mission to support collaborations that drive innovation.

Impact on Banking Services

With Feddy now capable of responding in 14 languages, customers will have greater ease in accessing banking services, particularly in their native languages, marking a significant step in enhancing the accessibility of financial services.

Federal Bank: Key Points

Overview: Federal Bank is one of India’s leading private sector banks, headquartered in Aluva, Kerala.

Founded: 1931 (as Travancore Federal Bank), renamed to Federal Bank in 1947.

Network: It operates over 1500 branches and 2000+ ATMs across India.

Business Mix: As of March 2024, the bank’s total business mix (deposits + advances) stands at ₹4.62 lakh crore.

International Presence: Representative offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi cater to NRIs, with an IFSC banking unit at GIFT City, Gujarat.

Capital Adequacy: Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) under Basel III norms was 16.13% as of March 2024.

Innovations: Known for its digital transformation, including AI chatbot “Feddy” for customer service, and partnerships like Bhashini for vernacular support.

Target Customers: Serves a broad customer base, including retail, NRI, SME, and corporate banking.