Customer engagement in highly regulated industries is entering a new era in 2025-26. Banks, insurers, non-bank financial companies (NBFCs), and healthcare providers across India, the GCC, Southeast Asia, and Africa are accelerating digital transformation efforts – but always with an eye on compliance. These sectors face intensifying competition from fintechs, insurtechs and digital natives, rising customer expectations for seamless service, and evolving regulatory mandates around data privacy and security. As a result, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems have become mission-critical infrastructure for delivering personalized, omnichannel experiences while ensuring strict compliance. In fact, financial services firms are among the top investors in CRM technology globally, reflecting how central customer engagement is to their growth strategy. The top CRM and customer engagement trends in regulated industries reveal a balance between innovation and regulation, with a clear shift toward “compliance-first” CRM approaches that embed regulatory requirements into every facet of customer outreach.
Senior decision-makers – from bank CXOs to insurance CIOs and hospital directors – are now looking beyond generic CRM solutions. They seek platforms that drive superior customer experience (CX) and analytics, yet offer vertical-specific capabilities and compliance by design. Below, we explore the key trends shaping customer engagement and CRM for banking, insurance, NBFCs, and healthcare, backed by industry analyst insights, market data, regulatory developments, and real-world use cases.
1. Digital Transformation and CX as Top Priorities
Across regulated sectors, digital transformation is no longer optional – it’s imperative for staying competitive. Traditional banks are racing to improve customer experience and fend off fintech and neobank challengers. A recent PwC survey in Southeast Asia found 68% of banks cite improving customer experience as the primary driver for digitalization. In India and emerging markets, banks are expanding mobile and online channels to reach young, unbanked customers, recognizing that superior digital CX translates to market share gains. Governments and regulators are also encouraging this push: for example, national agendas like Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the UAE’s innovation strategy explicitly urge banks to adopt advanced analytics, AI, and customer-centric technologies to modernize services.
Insurance companies are similarly embracing CX transformation. Insurance penetration remains relatively low in many developing regions, but rising incomes and new entrants (spurred by liberalization such as 100% FDI in Indian insurance) are fueling competition. With many global and domestic insurers vying for customers, acquisition and retention have become critical – naturally driving CRM adoption. Insurers that once relied on fragmented legacy systems are now investing in unified CRM platforms to gain a 360° view of customers across policies and touchpoints. They are launching direct-to-consumer digital channels (portals, mobile apps) while managing traditional agency networks, necessitating a holistic CX approach. In fact, customers now expect the same seamless, personalized service from insurers as they get from banks or tech firms. McKinsey research underscores that customer experience is a strong predictor of growth for insurers, with CX leaders outperforming peers in revenue and retention outcomes. In short, better customer experience is a win–win – improving satisfaction and financial performance – which is why CX-centric CRM initiatives are a top priority in 2025-26.
Even healthcare providers are joining the digital CX wave. Large hospital chains in India and the GCC, known for medical tourism, now compete on patient experience as a differentiator. These hospitals are adopting CRM systems to manage patient relationships beyond clinical care – from appointment reminders and follow-ups to feedback and wellness marketing. As one example, leading Indian hospital groups like Apollo Hospitals have begun leveraging CRM tools to enhance patient outreach and loyalty programs for elective procedures and international patients. While healthcare is earlier in the CRM maturity curve, the direction is clear: patient experience is the new focal point, and digital engagement tools are key to delivering it.
2. AI-Powered Engagement – With an Eye on Compliance
No trend is hotter in 2025 than Artificial Intelligence (AI) in customer engagement. AI and machine learning are being woven into CRM platforms to automate and augment interactions – from chatbots handling routine inquiries to predictive analytics surfacing the next best offer. According to Gartner, in 2025 around 80% of customer service organizations will be using some form of generative AI in their support workflows. Businesses see AI as a route to faster responses and deeper insights: for instance, integrating AI in CRM can lead to higher customer retention and repeat sales (one analysis noted a 15% increase in repeat sales with AI-driven CRM). Eight in ten salespeople say they plan to use AI to maximize CRM value in the next few years, and the global “AI-in-CRM” market is expected to reach $11 billion in 2025 – a testament to how core AI has become in CRM strategy.
Regulated industries, traditionally cautious, are now enthusiastically – albeit carefully – adopting AI in customer engagement. Banks have been early AI adopters for things like automated customer support chatbots, credit-risk modeling, and personalized product recommendations. Notably, regulators themselves are pushing this trend. In March 2025, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor publicly called on banks to leverage AI to handle the growing volume of customer complaints and improve grievance redressal. This regulatory encouragement shows that AI is not just a nice-to-have, but increasingly expected as part of modern customer service in banking. Leading banks in the Middle East and Asia are exploring AI driven “virtual agents” and advanced analytics to enhance service quality, supported by government digital agendas. Insurers too are piloting AI – for example, using AI to automate simple claims processing, flag fraudulent claims, and predict which customers might not renew (lapse). Many insurance firms report burgeoning interest in generative AI use cases like intelligent chatbots to answer complex policy queries or an AI assistant to help call center agents retrieve information faster. These AI capabilities promise higher efficiency and a more personalized experience.
However, regulated sectors approach AI with an eye on compliance and risk. There is palpable excitement about AI’s potential, but also caution. For instance, while banks are deploying AI chatbots, they must ensure these bots don’t inadvertently breach confidentiality or give “advice” that runs afoul of financial regulations. “Responsible AI” is the mantra – ensuring transparency, fairness, and auditability of AI decisions. The RBI has even flagged concerns about unchecked use of AI in lending, urging responsible AI practices in NBFCs and banks. Similarly, in insurance, regulators like the IRDAI expect that any AI used in customer service still upholds prescribed service standards and data protection norms. In healthcare, use of AI (say, for patient triage or engagement) must comply with medical ethics and privacy laws. All this means organizations are rolling out AI in targeted, well-governed ways. For example, banks might use AI to assist human agents (improving response times and suggestions), but not fully replace humans for sensitive customer interactions yet. The tone among CXOs is confident but measured: they are investing in AI to transform CRM, while implementing oversight – updating policies, retraining staff, and building fail-safes – to ensure AI augments rather than jeopardizes customer trust.
Use Case – AI in Action: A leading Indian private bank recently integrated an AI-driven grievance bot into its CRM. The bot can understand complaints in multiple languages and automatically categorize and route issues, reducing resolution times. Interestingly, this move was in line with RBI’s guidance urging banks to use technology for better complaint handling. Early results show improved customer satisfaction in complaint handling, while compliance teams ensure the AI’s decisions are auditable. Similarly, a health insurance company in the GCC deployed an AI claims assistant that checks incoming claims against policy terms and flags suspicious cases for review, speeding up genuine claims approvals. These examples illustrate how regulated businesses are harnessing AI for efficiency, but within a compliance framework.
3. Omnichannel and Mobile-First Engagement
Today’s customers expect to interact with service providers anytime, anywhere – and regulated industries are responding with omnichannel engagement strategies. This year, leading banks, insurers, and NBFCs are present on web, mobile apps, WhatsApp/WeChat, call centers, and even social media, ensuring customers can move seamlessly between channels. The CRM is the backbone that stitches these channels together, providing a unified view of the customer journey. A banking customer might start a loan inquiry on the mobile app, then visit a branch – the relationship manager should have the context from the prior app interaction via the CRM’s 360° customer view. Delivering this consistency is now a baseline expectation in financial services. In fact, omnichannel customers are often more valuable – for banks, a customer using both digital and assisted channels tends to have higher product holdings and loyalty than a single-channel customer, according to industry analyses.
One facet of omnichannel that is especially crucial in emerging markets is mobile-first engagement. In regions like India, Southeast Asia, and Africa, many customers and field agents rely predominantly on smartphones for their work. Mobile CRM usage has skyrocketed, enabling frontline staff to serve customers on the move. The numbers tell the story: the mobile CRM software market is projected to grow from ~$28.4 billion in 2024 to $31.6 billion in 2025, and further to an estimated $58 billion by 2034. This growth is fueled by the clear productivity gains mobile CRM offers. Studies show sales teams using mobile CRM see significantly better results – about 65% of salespeople who adopt mobile CRM meet their quotas, versus only 22% who don’t. The convenience of accessing customer data and updating deals on the go translates directly into more closed deals and responsive service.
In regulated sectors, mobile CRM capabilities are a game-changer for field operations and last-mile service. Consider NBFCs and microfinance institutions: their loan officers often travel to remote villages for loan origination and to collect repayments. These officers need a robust mobile app that works offline (given patchy rural connectivity), allows e-KYC document capture, and even prints digital receipts for collections. Many generic CRM mobile apps don’t meet these specialized needs – for example, not all support offline mode or have modules for collections. This gap is driving providers to develop tailored mobile CRM solutions. By next year, we see forward-thinking NBFCs equipping their field agents with such customized apps, enabling them to serve customers in far-flung areas efficiently. In the insurance sector, mobile empowerment of the agency force is equally critical. The majority of life insurance sales in emerging markets like India still happen face-to-face via agents. A mobile CRM app for agents – with features like instant premium quotes, paperless policy enrollment forms, and renewal alerts – can dramatically boost an insurer’s reach and agility. Insurers are investing in agent apps that integrate with their CRM, so an agent can log a lead, get a policy approved, and even trigger a digital payment, all from a tablet in the customer’s living room. This not only improves the agent’s productivity but also enhances compliance (e.g., capturing all customer interactions and consents digitally in the CRM).
Banks in Africa and South Asia illustrate another mobile-driven trend: branchless banking through agent networks. Many banks partner with local agents or correspondents for cash in/cash-out and account opening in areas without branches. Managing these distributed agents requires a mobile-first CRM approach. In Kenya, for example, some banks oversee thousands of mobile money agents (leveraging services like M-Pesa), and Nigeria’s fintechs have agent networks for financial inclusion. These agents are essentially a human “channel”, and banks need to onboard them, train them, monitor transactions, and ensure compliance (KYC/AML) – tasks made efficient by a dedicated CRM portal/app for agents. Offline capability and lightweight design are key, as connectivity can be intermittent; the CRM must sync data when back online and cache critical info locally for use in the field. Few global CRM vendors have out-of-the-box support for such low-bandwidth, offline scenarios, which is why many institutions in Africa prefer solutions that cater to these needs.
Finally, even in urban corporate environments, the pandemic has normalized remote and hybrid work, making mobile access important for all. Bank relationship managers often meet corporate clients off-site and expect to pull up account dashboards on their iPad; insurance executives traveling between branch offices want to approve a sales proposal via a phone app. A smooth mobile user experience is increasingly expected, even by top management. This year, we anticipate every major CRM deployment in these industries to come with a strong mobile component – not as an afterthought, but as a core design requirement. Organizations that empower their workforce with mobile CRM not only achieve higher efficiency but also signal a modern, responsive brand to their customers.
4. Compliance-First CRM and Data Privacy by Design
In regulated industries, compliance is king – and it is fundamentally reshaping CRM requirements. As companies gather more customer data and engage via digital channels, regulators are intensifying oversight on how that data is used, stored, and protected. Banks and insurers face stringent rules on everything from data privacy and customer consent to audit trails of interactions and fair treatment of customers. Meanwhile, new data protection laws are coming online across regions. For instance, India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act (2023) and similar laws echo the privacy principles of Europe’s GDPR, imposing strict controls on personal data handling. Sector-specific guidelines also abound: the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issues detailed circulars on customer data security and grievance tracking for banks and NBFCs; the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) mandates certain customer service standards for insurers; and in healthcare, patient data confidentiality regulations align with HIPAA-like standards especially when handling international patients. In the GCC, central banks and regulators have introduced data residency rules requiring that customer financial data remain within national borders or approved local clouds. African nations too are updating data protection laws – Nigeria, for example, enacted a Data Protection Act in 2023, and others have similar frameworks in place.
All these regulations converge on one reality: compliance can no longer be bolted onto a CRM as an afterthought; it must be built-in from the ground up. This is the essence of the “compliance-first CRM” approach gaining traction. Organizations are now evaluating CRM platforms not just for features, but for how well they enforce security and compliance controls out-of-the-box. Key considerations include: data encryption, role-based access controls, audit logs, consent management, data residency options, and flexible deployment models (on premises or private cloud deployments to satisfy local laws). For example, a bank in the UAE might choose a CRM that allows hosting in a local data center to comply with UAE Central Bank guidelines, as opposed to a global SaaS-only CRM that stores data in another country. Traditional cloud CRM providers, while feature-rich, sometimes struggle to meet these localized compliance needs. As noted in industry reports, many pure SaaS CRM solutions “may not easily meet in-country data requirements, opening the door for compliance-focused players”. Banks have explicitly voiced a preference for solutions that are “compliance-ready and flexible in deployment”, ensuring they can adhere to privacy laws and regulatory reporting demands without extensive customization.
Another aspect of compliance-first thinking is workflow transparency and auditability. Regulated firms need CRM systems that automatically keep tamper-proof logs of every customer interaction (emails, calls, advice given), which can be crucial during regulatory audits or dispute resolution. For example, SEBI in India and the SEC in the US require certain financial interactions to be recorded and retrievable. Insurers might need to show regulators that every customer complaint was tracked and addressed in a timely manner – a capability best managed through an integrated CRM-based complaint management system. In NBFCs, many of which are now under bank-like customer protection norms, having a CRM that tracks all loan customer communications and collections attempts is becoming essential to demonstrate fair practices.
Compliance-first CRM solutions differentiate by providing these industry-specific templates and reports – for instance, a pre-built module for RBI-compliant grievance redressal or an IRDAI-compliant sales disclosure form – reducing the burden on organizations to build compliance features from scratch.
Crucially, the penalty for compliance missteps has grown – from reputational damage to hefty fines – so CXOs in these industries view compliance adherence as a top-level strategic priority, not just an IT checkbox. A “compliance-first” CRM approach actually complements customer experience goals: when customers’ data is handled with care and their rights respected, it builds trust, which is especially vital in financial services and healthcare. In 2025, we see compliance and customer experience converging. Regulators like the RBI explicitly link customer service quality with technology adoption (e.g., encouraging AI to improve consumer protection). Likewise, forward-looking firms realize that a trusted customer relationship is the foundation of engagement – you cannot personalize offers and collect rich data if customers don’t trust your data practices. Therefore, investing in a CRM that bakes in privacy and security (e.g., obtaining explicit consent before using data, auto-expiring sensitive data as laws require, ensuring marketing campaigns honor opt-outs) has become non-negotiable.
Real-World Example – Data Residency: A leading bank in Saudi Arabia selected a CRM solution that could be deployed on a local cloud certified by the Saudi central bank. This move was driven by strict Saudi data residency regulations. The bank’s CTO noted that while global CRM vendors offered great features, their inability to guarantee all data stays within Saudi borders was a deal-breaker. By choosing a compliance-first CRM that met this need, the bank accelerated approval from its risk and compliance committees, going live faster. The lesson: in regulated markets, tech decisions are increasingly driven by compliance considerations as much as pure functionality.
5. Vertical-Specific CRM Solutions and Integrated Use Cases
Another major trend this year is the rise of vertical-specific CRM solutions that cater to the unique processes of regulated industries. For years, big-name CRM platforms provided generic capabilities across industries, leaving banks or hospitals to heavily customize the system for their context. Today, that is changing. Industry analysts observe a surge in “industry clouds” and vertical SaaS offerings, as organizations demand faster time-to-value with solutions tailored to their sector. A Forrester survey shows 61% of global firms want to increase their use of industry-specific cloud platforms (like banking or insurance clouds) to accelerate innovation.
The CRM domain is part of this movement – even large vendors like Salesforce and Microsoft now offer industry-specific CRM modules (for example, Financial Services Cloud, Health Cloud) because clients see value in pre-built industry functionality.
For regulated sectors, vertical CRM means incorporating industry workflows and compliance context natively. In banking, this could include modules for KYC and onboarding, loan servicing, and wealth management client tracking integrated within the CRM. Many banks want CRM to not just log customer interactions, but to tie into core banking systems, trigger credit checks, or handle service requests like card disputes. A generic CRM out-of-the-box wouldn’t know these processes. Vertical CRM providers add that domain knowledge – for instance, a pre-configured workflow for loan origination that captures all necessary documents and approvals through the CRM interface. In practice, this might let a relationship manager initiate a loan from the CRM screen during a client meeting, with the CRM routing the request to underwriting and back, all while updating the customer’s profile. Such tight integration of CRM with banking operations streamlines both customer experience and compliance (since all steps are tracked centrally).
For NBFCs and MFIs, a vertical CRM means handling things like collections management and field agent tracking inherently. As noted earlier, these firms often need specialized features like GPS tracking for field officers, or integration with payment gateways for loan collections – functionalities a horizontal CRM wouldn’t include. A compliance-first vertical CRM can incorporate, say, an RBI-compliant loan recovery process, where every customer contact attempt by collections is recorded and follows regulatory guidelines on timing and frequency. NBFCs that adopt these tailored solutions in 2025 can manage multi-product relationships (a customer who has a gold loan, a two-wheeler loan, and an insurance policy via the NBFC, for example) under one roof, which improves cross-selling opportunities and portfolio oversight.
In insurance, the vertical CRM trend is evident in the focus on agent management and policy servicing. Insurers are looking for CRM systems that come with built-in agent hierarchy management, commission calculations, and lead routing rules suited to insurance distribution. Given that thousands of agents might interact with the CRM, it needs role-specific interfaces – an agent’s mobile view versus a regional manager’s dashboard. Vertical CRM solutions for insurance offer these nuances out-of-the-box. They also understand insurance use cases: managing a renewal cycle, handling a claim inquiry, or upselling a health policy to a life insurance client at the right moment. An integrated CRM can unify both agent-sold and direct channels, ensuring no customer falls through the cracks as insurers adopt omni-channel models. Additionally, policy compliance (like ensuring that only approved sales scripts and disclosures are used by agents) can be embedded via the CRM’s content and workflow rules.
Healthcare providers similarly benefit from vertical CRM capabilities. A hospital-oriented CRM solution might integrate with appointment scheduling systems, electronic health records (EHR), and billing software – so that a patient’s journey from inquiry to post-treatment follow up is tracked seamlessly. For instance, when a patient completes a surgery, the CRM could automatically schedule a follow-up call and email a satisfaction survey, as per the hospital’s patient care protocol. If that patient is an international medical tourist, the CRM might also trigger notifications to the hospital’s international patient relations team for visa and travel assistance. These are very specific workflows that a general CRM would need significant customization to handle. By adopting a healthcare-specialized CRM (often offered as part of healthcare cloud suites), providers get these templates pre-built. As noted in industry outlooks, while healthcare CRM adoption is nascent, it’s expected to grow ~12% CAGR through the decade, with vendors positioning solutions to capture needs like patient 360° views and referral management. The early movers in hospital CRM are seeing improved patient retention and operational efficiency, setting a blueprint for others to follow.
Overall, this year is seeing a convergence of verticalization and compliance. Companies like SimpleWorks (a vertical, compliance-focused CRM provider) and others are championing the idea that deep industry alignment is a competitive advantage in CRM. Instead of bending a one-size-fits-all CRM to meet banking or healthcare needs (and risking compliance slips in the gaps), organizations find it more effective to adopt CRM platforms purpose-built for their regulatory environment. This approach yields faster deployments and fewer custom fixes. As one CIO of a mid-sized bank put it, “We chose a banking-specific CRM to leverage best practices others already figured out – it came with pre-loaded workflows for branch banking and an API to our core ledger. That saved us months of development and ensured we didn’t miss any compliance steps, since it was designed with our regulators’ expectations in mind.” The market dynamics reflect this sentiment – industry-focused CRM solutions are gaining ground, and even general CRM vendors are modularizing their offerings into industry editions. Gartner’s latest analysis of the CRM landscape highlights new entrants focusing on niches (e.g., CRM for wealth management, CRM for clinics), indicating that the era of the monolithic, one-size CRM may be waning in favor of composable, industry-tuned systems.
Conclusion: Navigating 2025-26 with a Compliance-First Mindset
As we look at the customer engagement and CRM trends shaping banking, insurance, NBFCs, and healthcare, a clear theme emerges: success lies in marrying customer-centric innovation with rigorous compliance. The most effective organizations are those that can delight customers – through personalized AI-driven interactions, seamless omnichannel service, and proactive engagement – while maintaining the trust of regulators and clients by safeguarding data and adhering to policies. In regulated industries, trust is the currency of customer relationships. Every trend from AI to mobile CRM to industry-cloud solutions is being filtered through the lens of “does this keep us compliant and earn customer trust?”
Leaders in India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa are crafting strategies accordingly. They are championing compliance-first CRM implementations that turn regulatory constraints into differentiators. For example, a bank that builds superior data privacy features into its customer engagement (allowing customers to control their data and providing transparency) can market that trustworthiness as a competitive advantage. An insurer that equips its agents with a cutting-edge mobile app not only accelerates sales but also ensures every client interaction is recorded and auditable, reinforcing accountability. A healthcare provider adopting a patient CRM with consent management integrated can confidently expand digital services knowing patient rights are respected. These moves illustrate how compliance and customer experience are two sides of the same coin in CRM landscape.
For CXOs and senior leaders, the takeaways are clear. Invest in CRM as a strategic platform – not just a sales tool, but as critical infrastructure for customer insight, engagement, and compliance management. Leverage the latest technologies like AI and analytics, but do so in a governed way that aligns with your industry’s regulations and ethical standards. Break down silos across channels to truly know your customer, yet also fortify the protection around customer data. And consider the value of vertical-focused solutions that embed industry best practices; they can accelerate your go-to-market and reduce risk, as evidenced by the increasing demand for industry-specific clouds.
Coming time will reward those organizations that can build customer trust through superior engagement. This means being there for your customer – on any channel, via any device – with timely, personalized service. It also means demonstrating that you value their privacy and are a steward of their data. In regulated markets, the winners will be those who innovate boldly and responsibly. As a compliance-first CRM provider would argue, the goal is not choosing between compliance and agility – it’s achieving both. By aligning technology initiatives with the regulatory environment, firms can actually accelerate innovation (since fewer roadblocks emerge) and create customer experiences that are not only delightful but also secure and compliant by design.
In summary, the top customer engagement trends of 2025 show a path forward for regulated industries: AI-enhanced, mobile-enabled, omnichannel engagement, all underpinned by a strong compliance foundation. Adopting this approach will position banks, insurers, NBFCs, and healthcare organizations to thrive in the coming years – gaining customer loyalty, meeting regulator expectations, and outpacing competitors in the new era of compliance-first customer experience.
Sources: The insights and data points in this article draw from leading industry analysts and reports (e.g., Gartner, Forrester, McKinsey), market research (IDC, Statista), and regulatory communications. Key references include PwC’s Digital Banking Survey 2023 , RBI and IRDAI guidelines, CRM market analyses by HG Insights and Grandview Research, and trend observations from 2024–25 reports on AI and mobile CRM adoption. These sources underscore the convergence of customer experience and compliance imperatives shaping CRM strategies in 2025-26.
