INDIA:Airtel Gets Payments Bank Licence

Bharti Airtel on Monday received the Payments Bank licence from the Reserve Bank and gets Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) as an investor.

Airtel M Commerce Services Limited (AMSL) – a wholly owned subsidiary of Airtel which offers mobile money services under the brand name “Airtel Money” will now convert the existing pre-paid payment instrument licence into a Payments Bank license as per the guidelines prescribed by the RBI.

Kotak will be investing 19.90% in AMSL, subject to regulatory approvals.

Airtel is the largest mobile services provider in India with over 215 million subscribers and with 31% revenue market share. Airtel has deep and wide distribution reach especially in rural and remote parts of the country. Its distribution network reaches over 1.4 million retail points across India.

Airtel Money, launched in 2011 was the first mobile based pre-paid payment instrument service in the country and today empowers millions to leverage their mobile phones as a secure way for making payments and transferring money.

SOURCE: NEW INDIAN EXPRESS