Airtel Payments Bank gets Rs 325cr from its parent

Airtel Payments Bank has received a fresh capital infusion of Rs 325 crore from its parent firms according to regulatory filings. Telecom major Bharti Airtel and Bharti Enterprises have invested Rs 260 crore and Rs 65 crore respectively in the payments bank.

The latest capital infusion comes at a time when deposits of top payments banks have grown by over 70%. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in a response to an Right to Information (RTI) filing by TOI, said that payments bank deposits stood at close to Rs 940 crore at the end of December 2018. While the large players are growing their customer base, payments banks as a business are yet to develop a sustainable business model as they are barred from lending. Existing banks are still in early stages of trying to generate revenue by cross-selling products and services to account holders.