Airtel Payments Bank goes live in Rajasthan- first to do so in India

Airtel Payments Bank Limited (Airtel Bank) today announced that it has rolled out a pilot of its banking services in Rajasthan – becoming the first payments bank in the country to go LIVE. It is aimed at testing systems and processes ahead of a full scale pan Indian launch.

A fully digital and paperless bank, Airtel Bank, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited (“Airtel”), will offer a range of basic, convenient banking services. Customers in towns and villages across Rajasthan will now also be able to open bank accounts at Airtel retail outlets, which also act as Airtel banking points. The pilot, with banking points, will commence at 10,000 Airtel retail outlets.




Offering a quick and secure manner of cashless purchase of goods and services via the convenience of their mobile phones, Airtel’s wide network of merchant sellers and shops across Rajasthan will accept digital payments from day one. Planning to boost the ecosystem of digital payments, Airtel Banks plans to expand its merchant network in Rajasthan to 100,000 by the end of the year.

Smt. Vasundhara Raje, Hon’ble CM of Rajasthan, said, “Congratulations to Airtel for making Rajasthan the first state in India to have Airtel Payments Bank. This initiative, perfectly in sync with Hon’ble 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.”




Shashi Arora, MD & CEO, Airtel Payments Bank, said, “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.”