Airtel Payments Bank Witnesses Spike In New Customers Amid Paytm Payments Bank Crisis

Biswas did not verify whether the surge was attributed to users transitioning from Paytm Payments Bank in response to the RBI's actions against the associate company of One97 Communications on Jan 31

Biswas also stated that the online application for digital products, including savings bank accounts and FASTag, has surged 5-7 times in the past few days

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Anubrata Biswas, CEO of Airtel Payments Bank, announced on Friday that the company has witnessed a significant increase in the volume of new customers applying online to open bank accounts and availing services such as FASTag in recent days. The reason for this could be the recent ban on Paytm Payments Bank by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

However, Biswas did not verify whether the surge was attributed to users transitioning from Paytm Payments Bank in response to the RBI's actions against the associate company of One97 Communications Limited on January 31st.

The RBI has instructed Paytm Payments Bank to cease accepting deposits or top-ups in customer accounts, wallets, FASTags, and other instruments after February 29. The RBI stated that persistent non-compliance by Paytm with regulatory guidelines, despite repeated reminders, ultimately led to stringent action against the fintech. The RBI emphasised that there are no systemic concerns regarding this matter.

Biswas told the news agency PTI about the performance of Airtel Payments Bank, "All our digital products, be it customers who have an account applying for fixed deposit, be it new customers applying online for bank account or customers applying for FASTag, all are 5-7 times the January rates. This has happened over the last few days." 

Biswas also stated that the online application for digital products, including savings bank accounts and FASTag, has surged 5-7 times in the past few days.

"There seems to be a swelling of uptake on Bank's products for whatever context there may be...," he said.

In the December 2023 quarter, Airtel Payments Bank reported a robust growth trajectory, with revenues reaching Rs 469 crore, marking a 47 per cent increase year-on-year. Additionally, the net profit stood at Rs 11 crore, reflecting a significant 120 per cent rise compared to the same period last year.