Yono 2.0 Launch: SBI Plans 6,500 Hirings To Ramp Up Digital Transition, Says CS Setty

State Bank of India plans to recruit 6,500 new employees to support its digital transition, said Chairman CS Setty as the public sector bank rolled out the Yono 2.0 platform on Monday.

Setty said that the new employees will focus on helping customers migrate to digital platforms, in line with the bank’s broader “phygital” strategy. They will be added in SBI bank operations' subsidiary, which currently has 3,500 employees for this process.

Setty said SBI aims to more than double Yono's customer base to 20 crore users, from the current 9.46 crore users, as it sharpens focus on digital adoption and daily engagement through the app.

Yono, the personal banking app, can currently handle one lakh customers simultaneously and 1.6 crore customers daily, and as per Setty, it will reduce the customer acquisition cost by one-tenth of the traditional method.

The app is currently available in English and Hindi, and will expand to 15 Indian languages. The bank said updates in the app will be pushed directly through app stores, ensuring a smooth and seamless upgrade process for users.

The bank further aims to expand Yono’s reach to serve its entire customer base of around 530 million users, while also exploring opportunities to grow Yono globally. A key focus area for SBI is its younger customer base. Nearly one-third of Yono users are below the age of 30—a demographic the bank sees as critical for long-term relevance in an increasingly competitive digital payments and banking ecosystem.

Monetisation is not an immediate priority for the bank. SBI indicated that revenue generation from Yono is currently not on the table, with the focus instead on scale, adoption and experience.

SBI has already started work on Yono 3.0, which is expected to bring significant upgrades in functionality, performance and user experience.