DBS chief calls for human-centric approach to AI

It integrates AI across its operations whilst keeping the bank human-centric and trusted.

As artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies reshape the financial sector, DBS Bank is placing equal emphasis on innovation and trust to maintain its competitive edge, said Chief Executive Officer Tan Su Shan.

Speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival 2025's C-Suite Insights: Roadmap for AI in Financial Services session, Tan said that whilst advanced technologies such as generative AI and blockchain are transforming operations, trust remains the foundation of a sustainable financial institution.

"I think it's all very well to have great digital technology, agentic, AI generative, AI blockchain and all that. But at the root of all this is you need to have trust for financial intermediary to be sustainable, to keep your clients sticky," Tan said.

She added that technology must also be secure, resilient, and capable of evolving with changing needs.

Tan outlined DBS’s approach to integrating technology across all levels of the bank.

"Tech is business. Business is tech. We always say that tech is the front, middle and back of everything we do," she said, whilst citing that AI should not replace human interaction.

Instead, the bank aims to use AI to free employees from mundane tasks, enabling them to focus on building relationships with clients.

"I hope that AI will take away a lot of the mundane work that we don't want to do, to release time and capacity for our employees to do higher order jobs that enable us to better understand clients, to display empathy, build relationships and trust, and keep that relationship sticky and long term," Tan explained.

The CEO also highlighted the importance of organisational adaptability and strong data governance.

She stressed that data should guide decision-making while remaining safe and secure. "Being able to learn and relearn, and having data always on your fingertips, safe, be guarded, used in the correct way, and instructive as to how your customers want to do what they want to do," she said.

Tan said that the bank’s strategy is not only about adopting new tools, but about embedding AI into the core of the business while keeping clients at the center.

“We want to be an AI enabled bank with a heart. So we want to be AI to the core, but still human centric, still trusted, still dependable, still there for your rainy day and your good days and your bad days, still digital, still disruptive and always trusted,” she said.