India’s most prominent telecom operator Bharti Airtel Ltd is soon going to start its pioneer service in the form of Airtel Payment Bank in India. Also, Rajasthan will be the first state to initiate its pilot banking services. The company is the first of its kind to get the license from the Reserve bank of India.
According to the provision, the Airtel customers in Rajasthan will be allowed to open bank accounts at Airtel Retail Stores. The pilot project has 10,000 Airtel retail outlets. Officially, Airtel bank is a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Ltd.
On this peerless attempt, State 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 to residents in far-flung areas who are yet to have access to formal banking. I look forward to Airtel reaching every corner of Rajasthan.”
MD and CEO of Airtel Payment bank, Shashi Aurora mentioned, “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”.
Also, he stated that, “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. 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. We would also like to use feedback from our customers to further improve our processes and look forward to serving them”.
The proposal will support the National Democratic Alliance Government’s demonetization policy which is intended to restrain black money from the system. It also intends to move the country on the pathway of digitalization and cashless economy.
Under this plan, the bank accounts opened by people will also serve as Airtel Banking Points. The contact number of airtel customers will serve as their bank account numbers. Also, an interest of 7.25% per annum will be rewarded on their savings account. Apart from that, they can avail a personal accident insurance for up to Rs. 1 lakh with each of the savings account. The debit card facility has not been introduced yet, but they offer easy withdrawal and deposit from the Airtel Retail Outlets. The service has been initiated with 10,000 Airtel retail outlets in Rajasthan, and they are planning to stretch it to 100,000 by the year end.
