As managing director and chief innovation officer, Neal Cross spearheads the digital drive and innovation agenda of Singapore-headquartered DBS Bank Ltd, which was named the "World's Best Digital Bank 2016" by Euromoney Awards for Excellence. The first bank in India to use the Aadhaar biometrics for customer acquisition, DBS went from "zero to 500,000 customers" in six months. In an interview, Cross talks about the bank's digital initiatives, telcos' move into banking and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on banking. Edited excerpts: