SBI to double mobile banking users to 20 crore with Yono 2.0 launch

MUMBAI: State Bank of India plans to double its mobile banking customer base to 20 crore over the next two years from the current 9.4 crore with the launch of Yono 2.0, chairman C S Setty said on Tuesday. To help customers transition to the new digital platform, the bank will expand its in-branch digital support network to 10,000 floor managers across the country by March.



“This is not simply a mobile application,” Setty said at the press conference. “We have rewritten the entire internet banking code, which will now be called Yono Net Banking, and alongside that we have launched a completely reimagined mobile application.”



He said SBI has also redesigned its branch systems to mirror the same customer journeys available on mobile and internet banking. “If a customer starts a journey on mobile or internet banking and is unable to complete it, they can walk into a branch and complete the same journey seamlessly. From a customer experience perspective, this is a critical element,” he said.



SBI currently has close to 10 crore customers on its mobile app and a larger base on internet banking, with some overlap. “Over the next two years, we aim to take this to 20 crore customers primarily served through mobile banking,” Setty said, adding that scalability drove the redesign. “From that perspective, the incremental cost is not significant.”



Around 3.5 crore existing internet banking users have already been migrated to the new Yono Net Banking interface. “The feedback has been good. It has become far more customer-friendly,” Setty said.



The app has been designed to work across devices and network conditions. “This is a very light application. Device memory, device type and connectivity constraints have all been factored in to ensure the app works across conditions,” he said.



Under SBI’s “phygital” approach, branches will be reimagined rather than scaled down. “We are digital-first, but we will continue to serve customers physically,” Setty said. Floor managers, currently numbering about 3,500–4,000, will be increased to 10,000 to help customers migrate to digital channels while continuing to assist with conventional services.



On costs, Setty said digital onboarding sharply reduces acquisition expenses. “For customer acquisition through digital onboarding, the cost is roughly one-tenth of branch-based acquisition,” he said, though he declined to quantify overall savings.



Setty said SBI’s digital strategy is anchored on what he called the “Yono-isation” of the bank. “This is not just about launching an app. It is about simplification across journeys,” he said, adding that monetisation was “not on the table immediately”.



The bank is targeting younger customers, with around one-third of SBI’s customer base below 30 years of age. “We open about 70,000 accounts every day. Our aim is that 90% of digitally onboarded customers should be onboarded through the mobile application,” he said.



Setty said work on Yono 3.0 has already begun, with simplification remaining the core design principle. He said Yono 2.0 would compete directly with third-party UPI apps. “Payments were the single most important feature customers asked us to reimagine. The UPI stack has been completely redesigned,” he said.



On security, Setty said the platform follows a “security-by-design” framework, with customers having direct control over transaction limits and usage settings. He added that 60–70% of transactions are monitored in real time or near real time.



Yono 2.0 will be rolled out as an app upgrade in a calibrated manner, with most Android users expected to migrate over the next two weeks. Launched in 2017, Yono now handles most of SBI’s digital activity, with 93% of customer-initiated payments conducted digitally and cumulative digital lending crossing Rs 2 lakh crore.



“Yono is more than a platform,” Setty said. “It is a digital operating system for SBI’s Vision 2030.”



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