Bharti Airtel launches payments bank in Rajasthan

[rahul1117kumar]

Bharti Airtel , the country’s largest telecom company, Wednesday launched its payments bank services from Rajasthan, as a pilot, becoming the first payments bank in the country to go live.

The pilot of its subsidiary - Airtel Payments Bank - will begin with banking points at 10,000 Airtel retail outlets in the state, where a wide network of sellers or shops will accept digital payments from Airtel Bank from day one, thus enabling cashless purchase of goods and services via their mobile phones.

"Airtel Payments Bank will play an important role in taking banking services to the last mile in a quick and efficient manner and benefit millions of unbanked citizens of this country," said Shashi Arora, MD & CEO, Airtel Payments Bank.

Airtel Bank plans to expand its merchant network in Rajasthan to 100,000 by the end of the year, giving a big boost to digital payments ecosystem.

"With this pilot, we have taken a big step towards the launch of our banking services and will be testing our operational readiness for full-scale launch across India," he added, without sharing when the country wide launch will happen.

The pilot is aimed at testing systems and processes ahead of a full scale pan India launch.

Customers in towns and villages across Rajasthan will now be able to open bank accounts at Airtel retail outlets, which will also act as Airtel banking points.

The payments bank will offer bank account opening services using e-KYC through Aadhar card, cash deposit and withdrawal facilities. An interest rate of 7.25% on savings accounts will be given, which is the highest in India.

Customers can check their account balance, access other services using Airtel Money app on smartphones, or through USSD or IVR on featurephones phones. Telcos have already waived charges for USSD transactions in the wake of demonetisation of higher currency notes and cash crunch in the market.

Bharti Airtel launches payments bank in Rajasthan - ET Telecom

 

[rahul1117kumar]

An interest rate of 7.25% on savings accounts is quiet good.

 

[hike]

Airtel Payments Bank goes live with pilot project in Rajasthan

Airtel Payments Bank, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, today rolled out a pilot of its banking services in Rajasthan, becoming the first payments bank in the country to go live.

"Customers in towns and villages across Rajasthan will now be able to open bank accounts at Airtel retail outlets, which will also act as Airtel banking points and offer a range of basic, convenient banking services," a company release said.

The launch comes at a time when the government is making a determined push for a less-cash economy through demonetisation of high-value currencies.

Airtel Bank will commence the pilot with banking points at 10,000 Airtel retail outlets, the release said, adding that the pilot is aimed at testing systems and processes ahead of a full-scale pan-India launch.

"A wide network of merchants (sellers/shops) across Rajasthan will accept digital payments from Airtel Bank from day one, offering customers the convenience of cashless purchase of goods and services via their mobile phones in a quick and secure manner," it said.

Airtel Bank plans to expand its merchant network in Rajasthan to 1,00,000 by the end of the year, giving a boost to digital payments ecosystem.

Airtel Banking points will offer bank account opening services and cash deposit and withdrawal facilities.

Elaborating on the digital and paperless bank, the statement said account opening will be quick and paperless using Aadhaar based e-KYC.

"Customer's Airtel mobile number will be his/her bank account number. The interest rate of 7.25 per cent per annum (will apply) on deposits in savings accounts," it said.

It will allow money transfer to any bank account in India and free money transfer from Airtel to Airtel numbers within Airtel Bank. It is also offering personal accidental insurance of Rs 1 lakh with every savings account.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said, "This initiative, perfectly in sync with Prime Minister's vision for financial inclusion and Digital India, will be a boon for residents in far-flung areas who are yet to have access to formal banking."

In April 2016, Airtel Bank became the first entity in India to receive a payments bank licence from the Reserve Bank of India. The payments bank plans to leverage Bharti Airtel's extensive national distribution network of over 1.5 million retail outlets, with penetration in rural areas.

Shashi Arora, MD and CEO of Airtel Payments Bank, said, "With this pilot, we have taken a big step towards the launch of our banking services and will be testing our operational readiness for full-scale launch across India.

 

[rahul1117kumar]

RE: Airtel Payments Bank goes live with pilot project in Rajasthan

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