Axis Bank Building Robust Digital Banking Ecosystem with New Axis OK and Axis Pay UPI

Axis Bank's mobile banking spends touched Rs. 51,030 cr in Q3FY18, increasing 71% YoY, thereby reinforcing the Bank's commitment to accelerate the ‘Digital India’ agenda. Equally compelling is to note that over 66% of the Bank’s transactions were made through ‘digital modes’ in Q3FY18 as against 52% in Q1FY17. 

The Bank’s focus on cards, both credit and debit, also continues to remain high with Axis continuing to be the market leader in installing ‘card-acceptance terminals’ – as of Q3FY18, the number stood upwards of 479,200. Also, Axis Bank continues to invest in newer cashless and digital payment methods, which would help get a larger population to embrace digital payments. AxisPay UPI has also witnessed over 10.4 million registrations since its launch accounting for over 65 lakh Virtual Payment Addresses (VPAs).

Speaking at the press meet, Rajiv Anand, Executive Director – Retail Banking, Axis Bank, said, “The Government’s focus on making the country embrace digital payments has been relentless. With digital transactions touching the Rs. 1 billion mark in December last year, we at Axis Bank truly believe that the adoption of digital transactions has gained momentum, thanks to the multiple initiatives taken by the centre.  ‘Payments’ has always been at the core of Axis Bank’s business priorities and it is heartening to note that consumers continue to embrace the various digital modes of payment. We have always taken the lead in helping the customers in their ‘digital journey’ through our sustained commitment towards safe, convenient and innovative digital channels.”

As per data released by the Reserve Bank of India, in January this year, banking transactions through digital mode rose 6.57% to Rs. 1.06 billion in December from Rs. 998.5 million in November. This was the first time that the transaction volume crossed the Rs. 1 billion mark. The overall value of these transactions was also the second highest in a month in the last one year. Transaction worth about Rs. 125.51 trillion were carried out in December through credit and debit cards, the unified payments interface (UPI), unstructured supplementary service data (USSD), prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) and internet banking.

In May 2017, Axis Bank launched Axis OK - a lite, secure and easy-to-use multilingual mobile app to empower users with basic feature phones to access basic banking digitally, without heavy data consumption. The app, which is under 900 kb in size, is one of the lightest banking applications with an aim to offer digital banking services to a large number of customers.

Axis Bank's commitment towards providing a congenial environment for the startup community has been exemplified through its ‘Thought Factory’ located in Bengaluru. This is a one-of-its-kind innovation lab which empowers and provides a platform for startups to expand and create avenues with investors and companies.