Airtel Payments Bank offers free 1 Min Talk-time for Every Rupee on First Time Deposits

[Toshi Tandon]

Bharti Airtel, the promoter of Airtel Payments Bank, has offered free Airtel-to-Airtel voice minutes of talk time on every rupee deposited in the savings account. As per the offer, the customer having a savings account in Airtel Payments Bank is entitled to get free talk time for the amount deposited.

For example, if a customer opens an account at Airtel Payments Bank by depositing ₹1,000 then he will get 1000 minutes of free voice calls on his Airtel mobile number. The obtained 1000 minutes free talk time can be used for Airtel to Airtel calling including STD calls across the country for a period of 30 days. This exclusive offer is limited to the first time deposits only.

India’s First Payments Bank:

This is to mention that Airtel Payments Bank has started its operations in Rajasthan on a pilot basis at over 10,000 Airtel retail outlets. The company’s retail outlets are acting as Airtel Banking Points to offer the basic banking services. As per a statement, the company reported that a wide network of merchants across Rajasthan is accepting digital payments from Airtel Payments Bank giving a boost to cashless digital payments ecosystem.

Addressing the launch of the offer, Mr. Shashi Arora, M.D & CEO, Airtel Payments Bank, said: “"We are leveraging Airtel’s telecom ecosystem to bring banking services to the doorsteps of every Indian. We are confident that this additional benefit along with the industry-best interest rate on deposits will encourage customers to open accounts with us and give a big boost to customer acquisition.”

Airtel Payments Bank – Disruption or Value Addition:

Bharti Airtel is leaving no stone and trying to push uptake by enrolling over 1 lakh merchants in Rajasthan by the year-end. This digital payment from Airtel Payments Bank is the first of its kind in India and the leading mobile operator will have a full-scale launch soon.

Offering 7.25% rate of interest on savings deposits is far higher than what most banks offer. For every ₹1,000 deposit, Airtel Payments Bank will incur a loss of ₹12.50 per annum or ₹1 a month. Let’s wait a few days and see what happens before one decides whether Airtel Payments Bank is an asset of liability.