New Delhi: Punjab National Bank on Thursday announced an alliance with IIT Kanpur and the Foundation for Innovation & Research in Science & Technology (FIRST) for establishing an innovation centre at the institute’s campus. Under this partnership, PNB and IIT Kanpur will set up a ‘Fintech Innovation Centre (FIC)’ as a vehicle to research and develop technological solutions to address challenges and explore opportunities in the BFSI space, the bank said in a statement.

PNB intends to create new products or solutions with technological innovations by creating a FIC involving IITK’s experienced faculty members with the help of FIRST, it said.

The collaboration of technical prowess from IIT Kanpur and financial expertise of PNB make it an apt « Fin-Tech » partnership that will help build innovations and entrepreneurial excellence, it said, adding, the FIC will be supported by a holistic ecosystem of financial institutions, academia, VC funds, technology companies and key government organisations.

« Planned focus areas include Fintech, Digital Lending, Payments, Cyber Security, etc. The Bank will get access to the pool of Fin-Techs incubated by IIT-Kanpur along with their innovative solutions, » PNB managing director S S Mallikarjuna Rao said.

It is important to ensure last mile connect and Turn Around Time (TAT) in satisfying the customer requirements through Digital or physical touch points at every link, he added.