Mumbai, Oct 22 (IANS): Spending by the banking and securities sector in India will total $11 billion in 2020, an increase of 9.1 per cent from 2019, as the sectors continue to increase its investments in digital business, said a latest forecast by Gartner Inc. on Tuesday.

Banking and securities organisations are investing in emerging digital technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain, not only to create new product offerings but also to respond to evolving customer demands.

"As an example, the transition to a cashless society aided by newer digital payment channels is creating opportunities for new digital technology investments in the sector," Ali Merji, Senior Research Director at Gartner, said in a statement.

According to Gartner's "Hype Cycle for Digital Banking Transformation 2019", biometric technology will impact up to 20 per cent of banking organisations in the next two to five years.

"In India, biometric technology adoption saw a boost after the introduction of Aadhaar, a unique 12-digit identification number that links citizens' bank accounts to their biometric data and mobile numbers," added Merji.

According to the 2019 Gartner CIO Survey, technology leaders in banking place a higher priority on legacy modernisation than do technology leaders in other industries.

"One of the critical challenges that troubles Indian banking and securities CIOs is connecting legacy digital systems to modern IT setups without interrupting the flow of data," Merji added.