Airtel Payments Bank, the first company in India to receive a payments bank license from the RBI, will launch banking operations in the second quarter of the current fiscal.
Airtel Payments Bank, which was earlier known as Airtel M-Commerce Services, today unveiled its new brand identity.
The name change underlines the company’s focus on the payments bank space and its commitment to contribute to the Government of India’s agenda of financial inclusion by taking banking services to the last mile.
On April 11, 2016, Airtel Payments Bank received payments bank license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel said: “With Airtel’s distribution network that touches every corner of the country, we believe that Airtel Payments Bank is uniquely placed to deliver quality banking services to customers by leveraging the power of mobile telephony.”
Airtel Payments Bank, which began operations in 2011 as Airtel M-Commerce Services, currently provides money transfer services and semi-closed wallet services (Airtel Money). The company has presence in 800 plus towns across India.
Kotak Mahindra Bank, which acquired 19.9 percent stake in Airtel Payments Bank, for Rs 98.8 crore, is expected to bring its banking expertise to the venture.
The company plans to leverage Bharti Airtel’s distribution network. Currently, the Airtel distribution channel is spread across 1.5 million outlets with network presence in 5,126 census and 464,361 non-census towns and villages in India covering approximately 87 percent of population.
