Airtel takes a bite of the govt's big demonetization pie, becomes first payment bank to go live

Government's decision to demonetize Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 currency has resulted in a country wide frenzy but it has also paved way for the payment banks in the country and making the most of the govt's move is country's top telecom operator, Airtel. The company had earlier said that it would be launching its payment bank business by the second quarter of the financial year ending March 2017. Now Airtel Payments Bank Limited (“Airtel Bank”) has rolled out a pilot of its banking services in Rajasthan with an aim to test systems and processes ahead of a full scale pan Indian launch.

With this, Airtel Bank becomes 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. Airtel Bank will commence the pilot with banking points at 10,000 Airtel retail outlets.

Airtel says a wide network of merchants (sellers/shops) across Rajasthan will accept digital payments from Airtel Bank from day one, offering customers cashless purchase of goods and services via their mobile phones. 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.

Airtel says the Airtel Bank is a fully digital and paperless, will offer bank account opening services with Aadhaar and cash deposit & withdrawal facilities.

Here's all you need to know

Customer’s Airtel mobile number will be his/her bank account number

Interest rate of 7.25 % p.a. on deposits in savings accounts

Money transfer to any bank account in India (Free money transfer from Airtel to Airtel numbers within Airtel Bank)

Personal Accidental Insurance of Rs. 1 Lac with every Savings Account

Anyone (non-Airtel customers also) with an Aadhaar card can open a Savings Account with Airtel Bank.

Airtel Bank does not offer ATM/Debit Card facility, at present. Customers can deposit withdraw cash

Customers can access money transfer services using the the Airtel Money app or through USSD

Former PayU executive Abhishek Tripathi joined Airtel Payments Bank in October this year to lead its small and medium business division.
Airtel received payments bank license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April 2016. The telecom operator is planning to expand its payment banking operations across its extensive network of over 1.5 million retail outlets, with deep penetration in rural areas.