Infosys partners with UK's Metro Bank for digital transformation

India's second-largest information technology (IT) services provider, Infosys on Tuesday said that it has entered into a long-term collaboration with UK-based community bank Metro Bank to digitise the bank's operations.

The collaboration will utilise Infosys Topaz, the firm's AI-driven capabilities including generative artificial intelligence (AI), to enhance Metro Bank's digital capabilities, improve automation, refine data, and embed further AI capabilities. This will assist the bank in increasing efficiency and saving costs, a regulatory filing said.

Last week, Infosys’ competitor and India’s biggest IT services major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced a partnership with Mansfield Building Society to digitally transform its operations in the UK. TCS said that it will deploy its proprietary banking platforms, including TCS BaNCS for Core Banking and TCS Digital Home Lending Solution.

The announcement also comes only a day after the IT behemoth announced its collaboration with Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to accelerate its transformation project, digital innovation and value enhancement.

"At the end of this transformation, we will be a very different business, but the true essence of Metro Bank will remain the same — a high-quality service organisation putting customers’ centre-stage," Metro Bank CEO Daniel Frumkin said.

The bank expects to deliver 80 million pounds of annualised cost savings this year across multiple initiatives, as it progresses towards the target of reaching mid-to-high teen return on tangible equity by 2027, he added.

"Our shared goal is to continually enhance customer engagement, community focus, and the integration of physical and digital experiences, thereby accelerating growth and value creation for Metro Bank," Dennis Gada, EVP and Global Head of Banking and Financial Services, Infosys, said.

Europe, and the UK, in particular, is emerging as one of the fastest-growing markets for Indian IT service providers and is gaining an edge over the US in the $245 billion Indian IT sector. Their growth is increasingly driven by the European market, as US growth has slowed due to macroeconomic challenges.

In May, HCLTech partnered with Arm, a British semiconductor and software design company, to work on custom silicon chips that support AI-driven business operations. It also teamed up with global tech giant IBM to offer clients a Generative AI Centre of Excellence based at sites in the US, UK and India.