Airtel Bank opens its doors as India grapples with demonetisation crisis

Anyone with an Aadhaar card can open a bank account at one of 10,000 Airtel retail outlets, reports Tech in Asia

You know what they say about demonetisation in India, right? It marches on.

Okay, so maybe that saying’s not quite in classics territory yet, but the country’s black money-combatting cash overhaul has ushered in a transition period full of long ATM lines,rather excellent internet memes, and every remotely fintech-related company preaching the good news of cashless payment options.

This, of course, sucks if you’re part of the 47% of Indians without bank accounts, because the way to cashless paradise, even if only by debit card, lies by way of an Indian bank account – easy enough to attain but an adjustment for several. (As of a year ago, 43 percent of open Indian bank accounts went untouched.)

Today, telco company Airtel has offered yet another avenue toward cashless happiness, involving its subsidiary Airtel Payments Bank and your smartphone. The payments bank has gone live in India’s largest state Rajasthan. Anyone with an Aadhaar card can open a bank account on the spot at one of 10,000 Airtel retail outlets, which double as Airtel Bank hubs.

The bank account will give users access to digital banking services, which Airtel says will be accepted by a number of merchants in Rajasthan (Airtel aims to get 100,000 partner merchants by the end of this year.) 

Through the bank doesn’t offer an ATM or debit card facility at the moment, customers will also be able to deposit and withdraw funds from Airtel Bank points.

Users will be able to make money transfers over the phone or from the Airtel Money app, where they will also be able to check account balances and access other services.

The bank will also offer an interest rate of 7.25% per annum with $1,500 in personal accident insurance.