Airtel rechristens M-Commerce Services as Payments Bank

NEW DELHI: Airtel M-Commerce Services Limited, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited, has been renamed as Airtel Payments Bank Limited after receiving necessary approvals from all concerned authorities. The Company also unveiled a new logo to reflect its new identity.

On April 11, 2016, Airtel Payments Bank Limited became the first entity in India to receive a payments bank license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The Company plans to start rolling out its banking network in the second quarter of the current Financial Year.

Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel said, “The new identity reflects our strong focus on the payments bank segment and our commitment to the Government’s vision of financial inclusion and banking services for every citizen. With Airtel’s deep 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 Limited (which began operations in 2011 as Airtel M-Commerce Services Ltd.) currently provides money transfer services and semi-closed wallet services (Airtel Money). The Company has presence in 800 plus towns across India.

The Company plans to leverage Bharti Airtel’s national distribution network that runs deep into rural areas and offers a robust platform to deliver banking services to the last mile. Currently, the Airtel distribution channel is spread across 1.5 Mn outlets with network presence in 5,126 census and 464,361 non-census towns and villages in India covering approximately 87% of the country’s population.

Kotak Mahindra Bank has acquired 19.90% stake in Airtel Payments Bank Limited for a consideration of appx. INR 98.8 cr. Kotak is expected to bring its banking expertise to the venture