Post by Dilip on Nov 23, 2016 22:58:38 GMT 5.5
NEW DELHI: 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.
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.