Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank announce mobile banking initiative

Bharti Airtel today said its wholly owned subsidiary Airtel mCommerce Services Limited had tied up with Axis Bank to provide a banking and payment services on mobile with, for potential underserved customers

Under the tie up, a simple, no-frills Axis Bank savings account will be opened for customers on the Airtel Money platform called 'airtel money Super Account powered by Axis Bank' offering customers banking transactions including cash deposit, money transfer and withdrawal.

These accounts will provide convenient, safe and secure savings avenues for financial inclusion of customers, who would be paid savings account interest and would also be able to make remittances.

Initially, savings and remittance will be provided in the top four remittance corridors enabling money to be sent from Delhi and Mumbai  to Bihar and East UP. Thereafter these services could be extended to other remittance corridors in the country. Gradually other banking products and services like micro recurring deposits, micro fixed deposits, small loans and micro-insurance products will also be provided through this platform.  

Sanjay Kapoor, CEO, India and South Asia, Bharti Airtel, said, ''According to estimates, nearly 43 per cent of our country's population does not have bank accounts and continues to rely on cash for majority of transactions as well as payments. The all new 'airtel money Super Account powered by Axis Bank' acts as a no-frills bank account that comes with remittance capabilities which empower customers to send money, withdraw cash from the nearby designated airtel money outlets, keep money safe and even enjoy interest on savings through their mobile device. With Axis Bank's expertise in banking and Airtel's extensive distribution network that spans over 1.5 million outlets, together, we are confident that this association will play a transformational role in furthering economic empowerment and fast-tracking India's financial inclusion agenda''.

Speaking at the launch event held in Mumbai, Shikha Sharma, MD & CEO, Axis Bank, said, "Our alliance with Airtel will help the bank to reach out to excluded segments of our population, both in rural and urban centres, with reasonably priced banking and financial services."