Airtel plans to ride the digital wave for growing payments bank business

Bharti Airtel is betting on its over 180-million digital service customers and its presence in the rural market to grow its payment bank business.

Airtel Payment Bank offers “lucrative interest rates” and varied services such as FASTag, telecom recharges, payments and debit cards Bharti Airtel’s chief executive officer Gopal Vittal said in a post-result conference, adding that “large merchant base of more than eight million allows us to drive both engagement and monetisation.”

This area is witnessing solid traction, he said.

Digital transactions are set to grow at a fast pace with the wider adoption of 4G-enabled smartphones. Vittal said Airtel is ahead of anyone else in the market.

Business Standard quoted him as saying that “our total payment bank distribution is two times that of the total ATMs and bank branches in the country. This allows us to offer a full stack digital account”.

A payment system enabled by Aadhaar is another opportunity, he said, adding that Airtel is also driving financial inclusion.

Airtel Payment Bank started operations in 2016. It is one of the first seven payment banks currently operational in the country. Airtel Payments Bank has a customer base of around 115 million with a monthly transacting user base of 31 million.

Digital transactions are set grow multifold in the coming days. While Airtel Payments Bank is putting Airtel’s network of retailers and kirana shops to good use, India Post’s payment bank is riding on post offices to offer payment bank services. Fino Payments Bank has widened its network through its partnership with BPCL to use its outlets as digital banking centres.

According to Vittal, Airtel Payment Bank has reported profit in the second quarter of the current financial year.