Airtel Payments Bank offers talk time with new savings accounts

New Delhi: To woo customers open savings account with it, Airtel Payments Bank today announced it will offer one minute of talk-time (within its network) for every rupee deposited by customers.

This benefit is applicable on first time deposits only, Airtel said.

"Any customer opening a savings account with Airtel Payments Bank, will get one minute of talk time on his/her Airtel mobile for every rupee deposited," the company said in a statement.

This means that if a customer opens an account with a deposit of Rs 1,000, then the person will get 1,000 minutes of free talk time on his or her Airtel mobile number. The talk time can be used for calling all over India, it added.

"We are leveraging Airtel's telecom ecosystem to bring banking services to the doorsteps of every Indian. We are also undertaking a massive drive to enroll over one lakh merchants in Rajasthan by the year-end, who will not be charged anything for accepting digital payments from Airtel Payments Bank customers," Airtel Payments Bank CEO Shashi Arora said.

Airtel believes this will boost the digital payments ecosystem hugely and reduce dependence on cash, he added. On November 23, Airtel Payments Bank had rolled out banking services in Rajasthan, becoming the first payments bank to go live in the country.

The launch comes at a time when the government is making a determined push for a less-cash economy through demonetisation of high-value currencies.