Airtel launches India's first payments bank

India’s ongoing, audacious project to bring banking and financial services to much of its population hit a major milestone today; the country’s first payments bank is now live. 

Airtel, India’s largest telecom network, with over 260 million subscribers, today announced the launch of Airtel Payments Bank. At a media event Thursday, the company committed an initial investment of 30 billion Indian rupees ($440 million) to bring its service across India.

The conglomerate said its service is now functional in all 29 states of India, adding that its 250,000 retail stores across the nation will serve as banking points. The company began testing its service last November in Rajasthan. Over 1 million customers joined the network during the pilot phase, it said today.  Read more...