AIRTEL IN PACT WITH SBI FOR MOBILE BANKING SERVICES

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar, announced separate partnerships with State Bank of India and ICICI Bank respectively to offer mobile banking services. While Bharti Airtel and SBI have formed an exclusive joint venture, Vodafone has agreed to become a Business Correspondent for ICICI Bank.

AIRTEL VENTURE

The joint venture between Airtel and SBI will invest about Rs 100 crore to set up the system for becoming the Business Correspondent of SBI. The JV will engage Airtel's retailers as Customer Service Points (CSP) all over India in a phased manner. With this, existing and new Airtel mobile customers will be able to visit these outlets and open new SBI bank accounts and avail of other banking products and services available at the CSPs. Additionally, existing SBI customers will also get serviced at these outlets.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. O.P. Bhatt, Chairman, State Bank of India said, “With this, we look forward to taking the benefits of banking to the Indian masses and building, a more inclusive society thereby carrying forward State Bank's vision of being the Banker to every Indian.”

Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti airtel said, “This historic collaboration between SBI and Airtel brings together two sectors that have made the most impact in addressing inclusive growth. The services offered by the JV will enable financial inclusion and economic empowerment for people across India.”

“This will be a complete game changer, leveraging SBI's expertise in the banking sector along with Airtel's 150 million strong customer base and ecosystem of over 1.5 million retailers and distributors across India,” he added. The JV incorporation between SBI and Airtel will be concluded by March 31, 2011.

VODAFONE DEAL

ICICI Bank and Vodafone Essar Ltd also announced a joint initiative to drive financial inclusion in the country. Under this tie-up, both entities will offer a bouquet of financial products such as savings accounts, pre-paid instruments and credit products through a mobile phone based platform. ICICI Bank will leverage the distribution strength of Vodafone, which manages over 1.5 million retail points for acquiring customers and servicing them. Ms Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director & CEO, ICICI Bank Ltd said, “Mobile penetration is growing exponentially in the country of which the rural market forms a major contributor. There is a huge potential for offering mobile banking in these regions.”

Mr Marten Pieters, Managing Director & CEO, Vodafone Essar, said, “the RBI move to allow for-profit companies to be Business Correspondents is a welcome move that will enable the population better access to financial services.”

SOURCE: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-money-banking/article1088079.ece