India telco Bharti Airtel launches mobile bank
A mobile payments venture by Bharti Airtel and Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched in 29 states across India. The two firms are planning to build a pan-India banking network that includes payments. Last year, the Reserve Bank of India began giving licences to companies outside the financial system, and Bharti Airtel, with 250,000 retail stores in India, was the first company of its kind to receive a payments licence.
A mobile payments joint venture headed by Bharti Airtel is now now live in 29 states across India, according to multiple media reports.

Bharti's Airtel Payments Bank is working with Kotak Mahindra Bank on a plan to build what the companies call a pan-India banking network that includes payments.

Bharti Airtel is the first company of its kind to receive a payments license from the Reserve Bank of India. It owns some 250,000 retail stores across the country. Last year, the government decided to grant licenses to companies outside the traditional financial system.

"Just like mobile telephony leapfrogged traditional telecom networks to take affordable telecom services deep into the country, Airtel Payments Bank aims to take digital banking services to the unbanked over their mobile phones in a quick and efficient manner," Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises, said in a statement. "Millions of Indians in rural areas will get their first formal banking experience with Airtel Payments Bank."