New-age banking – digital and inclusive

This philosophy is in line with the Government’s vision of a digitally empowered and inclusive India, with a less-cash dependent economy and enhanced transparency. Conventional brick-andmortar banking is passé, welcome to a smarter way to bank.

Airtel Payments Bank, India’s first payments bank, commenced nationwide operations on January 12, 2017 and is a completely digital and paperless bank.

The bank aims to take basic banking services to the doorstep of every Indian by leveraging Airtel’s vast retail network in a quick and efficient manner. Over 500,000 Airtel retail outlets act as Banking Points and offer basic banking services such as account opening, cash deposit and cash withdrawal, at a neighbourhood location for every Indian. Majority of these banking points across states are in rural areas, helping in extending the reach of services to unbanked regions.

Airtel Payments Bank is a joint venture between Bharti Airtel and Kotak Mahindra Bank with each holding 80.1% and 19.9% stake respectively. Kotak Mahindra Bank’s expertise in banking products and technology will help Airtel Payments Bank define its products and processes well.

Being integrated with Bharti Airtel allows Airtel Payments Bank to gain scale, distribution and differential benefits, compared to other wallets or telecom companies. Airtel believes that there is a massive opportunity to serve the unbanked and contribute to the growth of digital payments and transactions as envisioned by the government of India. Given Airtel’s vast distribution and brand trust, we believe we are strongly positioned to provide convenient banking to customers and hence, are committed to offer its services to the entire customer base.

Roll-out strategy

• We are leveraging our existing base of over 270 Mn customers to popularise the benefits of digital payments and open Airtel Payments Bank accounts
• We are developing a nationwide merchant ecosystem of partners, including small kirana stores, grocers, pharmacies and restaurants, among others. These merchant partners will accept digital payments from Airtel Payments Bank customers over mobile phones. We have also launched a Merchant App for digital on-boarding of partners.
• With Airtel Payments Bank, unorganised merchants are not being charged for digital payments, thus promoting digital payments at smaller mom and pop and neighbourhood shops.
• To discourage cash usage, a minimal cash withdrawal fee (around 0.65% per transaction) is being levied, so that customers prefer digital payments over cash payments.