Airtel Payments Bank

What Airtel Payments Bank does

Airtel Payments Bank Limited is a digital-only payments bank and wholly-owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, headquartered in Gurugram, India. Founded in 2016 and operating under RBI payments bank regulations, it serves as the financial services arm of the Airtel ecosystem, targeting India's unbanked and underbanked population alongside digitally active consumers. Its core product is a paperless digital savings account offering interest rates up to 6.5-7% per annum with zero-balance onboarding via video KYC through the Airtel Thanks App. The bank complements this core with RuPay On-The-Go NCMC cards (over 5 million issued) for interoperable transit payments, the Safe Second Account security product, FASTag toll services, EV wallet recharges via Bharat Connect, and a biometric RuPay payment card.

The underlying technology stack is built on UPI, RuPay, and NPCI rails with AI-driven fraud prevention, anomaly detection, and Face Match biometric verification for onboarding and transaction security. Its distribution architecture leverages Bharti Airtel's nationwide retail footprint of 10,000+ touchpoints and partner networks (Across Assist, DMRC, government schemes) covering 90%+ of Indian pin codes. The bank monetizes through transaction and fee-based income (approximately 76% of payments bank income), interest on customer deposit balances (Rs 4,612 crore as of FY26), and cross-selling of digital financial services. With 28.8 million monthly transacting users and a 184 million customer base, it is the third-largest mobile bank in India by user base, processes one in four AePS transactions in rural markets, and holds the second-largest position in UPI Autopay mandates.

Name

Airtel Payments Bank

Legal name

Airtel Payments Bank Limited

Website

https://airtel.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Airtel Payments Bank is a digital-only payments bank and subsidiary of Bharti Airtel that provides savings accounts, UPI, AePS, RuPay cards, and transit payment solutions to India's unbanked and digitally active consumers through the Airtel Thanks App.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Banking

NAICS

Savings Institutions and Other Depository Credit Intermediation (522180)

SIC

National Commercial Banks (6021)

akta.pro primary industry

A2A Collections & Direct Account Funding (FSAMAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Virtual Card Issuance & Tokenized Corporate Cards (THACAJAA)

Keywords

• Payments banking
• Digital savings accounts
• UPI payment services
• Mobile banking India
• Financial inclusion banking

Headquarters

HQ city

Gurugram

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Transaction and Fee-based Income: Primary revenue stream from transaction fees, payment processing, and fee-based services. Approximately 76% of payments bank income comes from non-interest sources.
2. Interest Income on Deposits: Interest earned on customer deposits held in savings accounts. Customer balances grew 26% to Rs 4,612 crore in FY26.
3. Digital Services and Financial Products: Revenue from cross-selling financial products and services through the platform including bill payments, recharges, and other digital services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Airtel Payments Bank is a digital-only payments bank offering savings accounts with up to 7% interest, UPI-based payments, AePS, RuPay On-The-Go NCMC cards, FASTag, and EV wallet recharges. It serves 28.8 million monthly transacting users, processes one in four AePS transactions in rural markets, and focuses on financial inclusion for unbanked and underbanked populations across India.

Product overview

Airtel Payments Bank operates as a digital-only payments bank offering a integrated suite of financial services centered on digital payments, savings accounts, and transit solutions. The core product portfolio includes savings accounts with competitive interest rates, RuPay On-The-Go NCMC cards for interoperable transit payments, and government scheme card issuances. Add-on services include the Safe Second Account for enhanced transaction security, EV wallet recharges via Bharat Connect, FASTag for toll payments, and RuPay biometric payment cards. The bank leverages deep tech and AI for fraud prevention and operational efficiency, while its extensive rural distribution network supports financial inclusion objectives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Safe Second Account: A financial product designed to help users separate daily transactions from savings to protect their core funds against cyber fraud.

Products and services

• Airtel Payments Bank Savings Account Digital savings account with zero-balance option, paperless video KYC onboarding, and interest rates up to 7% per annum, designed for individual consumers seeking banking services via the Airtel Thanks app.
• Safe Second Account Secondary savings account that separates daily digital payment transactions from primary bank accounts, featuring fraud alarms, Safe Pay three-factor authentication, spend limiting controls, and Sleep Mode for pausing transactions.
• RuPay On-The-Go NCMC Card Co-branded RuPay National Common Mobility Card enabling interoperable transit payments across metro systems, buses, and other public transport networks. Supports NFC balance checking on Android smartphones, with over 5 million cards issued.
• EV Wallet Recharge via Bharat Connect Service enabling electric vehicle owners to top up charging wallets through the Bharat Connect (BBPS) platform, supporting interoperability across multiple charging point operators.
• Pink Saheli Smart Card Government-issued smart card providing free bus travel for women and transgender residents of Delhi, integrated with NCMC system and linked to Aadhaar for verification, usable across DTC, cluster buses, DMRC, and RRTS.
• FASTag Electronic toll collection service linked to Airtel Payments Bank accounts, enabling automatic toll payments across national highways.
• RuPay Biometric Payment Card India's first RuPay biometric payment card enabling fingerprint authentication as a second factor for digital transactions, designed to meet RBI's two-factor authentication regulations. Currently in pilot testing.

Quantifiable outcome

• 18.4% revenue growth year-on-year to Rs 3,207 crore
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and strategic.

• Mumbai Metro Line 1minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 8 June 2026Launched RuPay 'On-The-Go' Card in partnership with Airtel Payments Bank for use across Mumbai's metro network, marking 12th anniversary of Metro-1 operations.
• Across AssistcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 27 May 2026Partnership with Gurgaon-based protection and incident response platform to leverage Airtel Payments Bank's estimated 10,000+ touchpoints for last-mile distribution. Enables distribution across more than 90% of Indian pin codes.
• Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 May 2026Partnership to launch co-branded RuPay National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) 'On-The-Go' cards enabling commuters to use a single interoperable card across metro systems, buses, and other transit networks nationwide. Cards available as both debit and prepaid instruments.
• Delhi GovernmentcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 March 2026Authorized card issuer for Pink Saheli Smart Card scheme enabling free travel for women residents on DTC and cluster buses, with integration for Delhi Metro and RRTS services.
• Hindon Mercantile Limited (MufinPay)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 2 March 2026Joint issuance partners for Delhi government's Pink Saheli Smart Card scheme providing free bus travel for women and transgender residents. Cards integrated with NCMC system and linked to Aadhaar for verification.
• NPCI Bharat BillPay LimitedcoreTechnology or Integration · 17 December 2025Partnership to enable EV wallet recharges via Bharat Connect (BBPS) platform on the Airtel Thanks app. Allows electric vehicle owners to top up wallets seamlessly, instantly, and interoperably across different service providers.
• IDEX Biometrics and Hitachi Payment ServicesstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 October 2025Launched India's first RuPay biometric payment card at Global Fintech Fest, enabling fingerprint authentication as second factor for digital transactions. Card designed to meet RBI's new two-factor authentication regulations.
• NPCI, Razorpay, and OpenAIstrategicTechnology or Integration · 9 October 2025AI-driven payments pilot enabling users to make UPI payments through ChatGPT. Airtel Payments Bank serves as one of the banking partners alongside Axis Bank, with BigBasket as first merchant. Uses UPI's 'reserve pay' feature.
• MastercardcoreTechnology or Integration · 13 May 2025Partnership combining telecom reach with payment infrastructure to serve the unbanked population in India through digital payments and mobile wallets.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Jupiter (India): Indian neo-banking startup offering digital savings accounts, UPI, bill payments, and investment products via partner banks. Competes for the same digitally native, mass-market customers that Airtel Payments Bank targets through its app-led experience.
• Slice (North Carolina Fintech) / slice (India): Indian fintech offering prepaid cards, UPI, and consumer credit targeting young, underbanked users through a mobile-first app. Overlaps with Airtel Payments Bank's prepaid card and digital payments offerings but emphasizes credit-led monetization.

Broad incumbents

• PhonePe: India's largest UPI processor, competing directly for digital payment volumes and merchant acceptance, and now expanding into financial services (insurance, lending, wealth). Comparable on UPI/AePS scale, customer base, and digital-first model.
• MobiKwik: Listed Indian fintech offering digital wallet, UPI, prepaid cards, and Buy Now Pay Later products targeting similar mass-market and small-merchant segments. Comparable on digital payments, prepaid instruments, and financial inclusion focus.
• Paytm (One97 Communications): Broader digital payments and fintech platform that historically integrated Paytm Payments Bank with wallets, UPI, merchant acquiring, and consumer credit. Overlapping on UPI volumes, AePS reach, and digital savings accounts even as the standalone bank is constrained.

Direct peers

• Jio Payments Bank: Reliance-backed payments bank leveraging Jio's 400M+ telecom subscriber base for distribution, targeting the same unbanked/underbanked segment and rural AePS market as Airtel Payments Bank. Closest head-to-head competitor given parallel telco-distribution play.
• India Post Payments Bank: Government-backed payments bank using India Post's unmatched rural post office network for last-mile banking, DBT, and AePS. Comparable payments bank license, customer segments, and financial inclusion mandate.
• NSDL Payments Bank: Indian payments bank backed by NSDL focusing on digital savings accounts and UPI/AePS-led financial inclusion. Similar license, product mix, and competitive set as Airtel Payments Bank.
• Fino Payments Bank: Fino Payments Bank is an Indian payments bank with a similar license structure (deposit-taking, no lending) and a focus on financial inclusion through banking correspondent and BC-led distribution. Directly comparable business model, regulatory constraints, and target segments to Airtel Payments Bank.
• Paytm Payments Bank: Was a leading Indian payments bank backed by Paytm's digital wallet ecosystem with similar digital savings account and UPI focus. Now operationally restricted by RBI but historically the most direct peer in business model and customer target.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/airtelbank
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@AirtelCares
• Facebookfacebook.com/AirtelPaymentsBank
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/airtelpaymentsbank
• Instagraminstagram.com/airtelnews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Airtel Payments Bank