Banking on attention: The need for BFSI marketing to engage customers between UPI and Instagram

The financial services sector is at a pivotal juncture as India moves closer to its Digital Bharat vision, with the expectations of a generation of digital natives reshaping legacy institutions. The FINIXX Summit & Awards 2025, which has as its forward-thinking topic "Reimagining BFSI: Powering Digital Bharat Goals," put this change front and center.In order to examine the changing relationship between technology, trust, and consumer engagement in the BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance) industry, a diverse group of marketing experts, digital strategists, and financial innovators convened for the summit.Experts discussed how rapidly changing consumer behavior is upending traditional marketing strategies in a fascinating panel titled "The Next-Gen BFSI Consumer: Understanding & Engaging Digital-First Audiences." They also discussed what it will take to foster trust, loyalty, and meaningful engagement in an increasingly app-first and attention-deficit world.

The panel, which was presided over by Teamology Softech and Media Services Vice President of Growth and Strategy Lawrence Suchitha, included marketing directors from top BFSI institutions: VP of Digital Marketing at HDFC Bank, Aashir Allana AVP of Social Media Marketing at Tata Capital, Nikita Dilip Gupta SBI General Insurance's Head of Marketing and CSR, Rathin Lahiri Varun Mundra, Motilal Oswal Financial Services' Head of Media & Innovations Vishal Lohia, Hybrid Associate Director of Sales."The BFSI landscape has decisively moved from branch-first to app-first engagement," said Lawrence Suchitha, who opened the debate. Consumers of today need digital experiences that are quick, simple, and integrated—all while maintaining the transparency and trust that have traditionally characterized our industry. "The next-gen customer has never seen a passbook or stepped inside a branch," said Aashir Allana of HDFC Bank, emphasizing the point. They view the bank as an app rather than a physical establishment.Allana asserts that modern consumers evaluate their banking experiences by comparing them to Netflix, Amazon, and Zepto rather than other banks. "They want Zepto-level speed and Netflix-level personalization." Despite their impatience and impulsivity, they have a strong research bent. They expect the application procedure to take three minutes, but they will spend hours comparing credit cards. He pointed out that because of this behavioral mismatch, marketers must reach users "somewhere between Instagram and a UPI app."