Airtel Payments Bank is taking cues from initial launch in Rajasthan

Airtel Payments Bank app is menu-driven and available in 12 languages

Airtel Payments Bank, the first in the space to roll out services nationally, has grown to 400,000 outlets across India. The company, which was initially launched as a pilot in November 2016 with 10,000 outlets in Rajasthan, has covered 15 million customers since the nationwide roll-out of its services in January this year. Given the thin margins for payments banks, the company needs scale to justify customer acquisition and marketing costs as it eyes expansion. As it faces these challenges, Airtel Payments Bank has adopted an asset-light model — sans large physical branches  —  to keep its operating costs low.