Mumbai: State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, is planning to raise the threshold for artificial intelligence-led cheque processing to ₹1 lakh, up from the existing ₹10,000 limit. The move could enable more than 50–55% of the bank’s cheque volumes, by number, to be processed through automated models, marking a significant expansion of SBI’s use of AI.
SBI currently uses image-based AI models for cheque truncation and has fully automated the processing of cheques up to ₹10,000. This segment accounts for around 25% of the bank’s total cheque volumes.
SBI Chief Information Officer Abhay Kishore Pandey said the higher threshold is expected to substantially increase automation and reduce processing costs. He added that the objective is not merely to replace manual processes but to enable employees to focus more on customer-facing activities while serving a larger customer base with the same workforce.
The bank uses Vision Large Language Models (LLMs) to read cheques, verify mandatory fields and check compliance requirements. A control risk unit reviews a sample of AI-processed cheques to identify errors and assess whether further model training is required.
SBI is also stepping up enterprise-wide investments in AI infrastructure and technology, with the aim of reducing costs over the long term and improving the scale of services.
Beyond cheque processing, the lender is expanding AI adoption across credit underwriting and lending. In FY26, SBI used AI-led underwriting to assess nearly ₹1 trillion in MSME loans, covering loans of up to ₹5 crore each. These models use GST data, credit bureau scores, account information and other structured and unstructured data to assess borrowers.
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As demand for smaller-ticket loans rises, SBI plans to combine LLMs and Small Language Models (SLMs) with internal and external datasets to accelerate credit decisions.
The bank is increasingly positioning AI as a core technology for cost reduction, faster decision-making, improved customer service and scalable growth across its operations.
