In a significant industry shift, NatWest Group has become the first UK bank to sign a direct partnership with OpenAI, departing from the traditional banking reliance on platforms like Microsoft Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud. This bold move positions the bank at the forefront of AI innovation within the financial services sector. “The partnership will give NatWest early access to OpenAI’s latest models and help accelerate the rollout of high-value, transformative AI use cases,” said Gunjan Kumar, MD, Global Head of Digital Platforms and India Head for Wealth CDIO at NatWest Group.
The bank is actively testing customer-facing AI applications, including personalised financial coaching, empathetic real-time voice support, and advanced fraud detection tools. The goal is to enhance, not replace, human interaction. “Being the first UK bank to sign with OpenAI gives us a direct line to the latest AI advancements, helping us respond to customer needs faster and more effectively,” Kumar added.
NatWest already has a strong foundation in AI. In 2024, its AI-powered chatbot Cora+ handled 11 million customer interactions, boosting satisfaction by 150% and reducing the need for human intervention by half. Other AI innovations have streamlined call summarisation—saving advisers 15 minutes per call—and improved fraud detection capabilities that support 7,000 employees in identifying scams early.
Much of this innovation is driven by NatWest India’s 17,500-strong workforce across Gurugram, Chennai, and Bengaluru, underscoring the importance of its global talent strategy in driving tech transformation.
The timing of the partnership coincides with OpenAI’s launch of GPT-OSS, open-weight reasoning models that can be deployed locally—critical for banks prioritising data privacy and security. These models allow institutions to process sensitive information in-house, marking a shift towards scalable, secure AI adoption in finance.
As the banking sector increasingly embraces AI, NatWest’s early move to directly engage with OpenAI highlights its ambition to lead in secure, transformative technology. The partnership not only accelerates innovation but also sets a new standard for how banks can leverage cutting-edge AI responsibly and effectively.
