Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank pushing m-commerce through no-frills mobile banking

Bharti Airtel's wholly owned subsidiary Airtel mCommerce Services Ltd and Axis Bank have launched the Airtel Money Super Account in a bid to extend banking and payment services to India's unbanked population via the mobile platform. IT major Infosys is the solution provider in the partnership.

Now Airtel users can open no-frills savings accounts with Axis Bank, as these will leverage Bharti Airtel's mobile wallet (Airtel Money) and enable users to make banking transactions like cash deposit, money transfer and withdrawal. Users will also earn interest on their savings accounts.

To begin with, the savings and remittance facility will be only available in the top four remittance corridors – Delhi, Mumbai, Bihar and eastern UP. Initially, money can be sent only from Delhi and Mumbai while Bihar and eastern UP will have receiving facility. Later, these services would be extended to other remittance corridors across the country. Other banking products and services like micro recurring deposits, micro fixed deposits, small loans and micro-insurance products will also be available at a later stage.

"With Axis Bank's expertise in banking and Airtel's distribution network spanning over 1.5 million outlets, this association will play a transformational role in furthering economic empowerment and fast-tracking India's financial inclusion agenda," said Sanjay Kapoor, CEO (India & South Asia) of Bharti Airtel.

Launched in Delhi-NCR and Chennai in May 2011, Bharti Airtel-powered mobile wallet Airtel Money was recently rolled out in 300 cities in India.