Airtel And India Post Payments Bank Launch WhatsApp Banking Services

*  To empower customers PAN India to access banking services on their mobile phones in just a few clicks

*  Delivered on Airtel IQ, the messaging solution will augment the Govt.’s Digital India mission by enabling IPPB customers across the country to seamlessly connect with their bank on WhatsApp

Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), a leading telecommunications service provider in India and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) today announced the launch of WhatsApp Banking Services for IPPB customers, enabling them to access banking services on their mobile phone.

The WhatsApp messaging solution will be delivered to customers through Airtel IQ - a cloud communications platform as a service that enables brands to engage with their customers across voice, SMS and WhatsApp channels. Airtel is the first telecom company in the world that serves as a Business Service Provider (BSP) for WhatsApp.

Airtel will enable IPPB customers to seamlessly connect with the bank on WhatsApp and effortlessly avail a host of banking services including –doorstep service request, locating nearest Post Office and much more. In line with the Govt.’s ambition to bring digital and financial inclusion to citizens of India in their language, the Airtel – IPPB WhatsApp Banking solution is also working on to build multi-language support, enabling added convenience to customers especially to those in the rural parts of the country to access banking services in their preferred language.

Airtel has been working with IPPB to deliver as many as 250 million messages per month to the bank’s customers many of whom are located in mofussil towns and tier 2,3 cities. The addition of the WhatsApp messaging will add to customer’s accessibility to connect with the bank on their fingertips, furthering Digital India mission of GoI, as part of which IPPB has been working tirelessly to deliver banking services in the rural pockets of the country.

Gursharan Rai Bansal, CGM & CSMO – India Post Payments Bank said, “We are delighted to work with Bharti Airtel as our partner in driving digital and financial inclusion in India. We believe that financial services driven by technology have great potential and can go a long way in ensuring that the best financial products reach the farthest corners of the country”.

Abhishek Biswal, Business Head - Airtel IQ said, “Airtel IQ is a robust, intuitive and secure cloud communication suite. With the addition of WhatsApp messaging to the existing SMS and voice communication that we offer to India Post Payments Bank customers, we will further enable a two-way communication between the bank and their customers.  We are delighted to continue our association with IPPB  to contribute significantly in making banking services more accessible to tier2,3 cities in the country. We promise to continue delivering customer centric solutions that offer greater convenience to customers”.

IPPB and Airtel IQ are working towards further integrating a LIVE interactive customer support agent into the WhatsApp solution which will enable customers to access 24X7 support and get quick resolutions for their queries.

About Bharti Airtel Limited

Headquartered in India, Airtel is a global communications solutions provider with over 500 Mn customers in 17 countries across South Asia and Africa. The company ranks amongst the top three mobile operators globally and its networks cover over two billion people. Airtel is India’s largest integrated communications solutions provider and the second largest mobile operator in Africa. Airtel’s retail portfolio includes high speed 4G/5G mobile broadband, Airtel Xstream Fiber that promises speeds up to 1 Gbps with convergence across linear and on-demand entertainment, streaming services spanning music and video, digital payments and financial services. For enterprise customers, Airtel offers a gamut of solutions that includes secure connectivity, cloud and data centre services, cyber security, IoT, Ad Tech and CPaaS (Airtel IQ). For more details visit www.airtel.com

About India Post Payments Bank

Communication with 100% equity owned by Government of India. IPPB was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on September 1, 2018. The bank has been set up with the vision to build the most accessible, affordable and trusted bank for the common man in India. The fundamental mandate of India Post Payments Bank is to remove barriers for the unbanked & underbanked and reach the last mile leveraging the Postal network comprising 155,000 Post Offices (135,000 in rural areas) and 300,000 Postal employees.

IPPB’s reach and its operating model is built on the key pillars of India Stack - enabling Paperless, Cashless and Presence-less banking in a simple and secure manner at the customers' doorstep, through a CBS-integrated smartphone and biometric device. Leveraging frugal innovation and with a high focus on ease of banking for the masses, IPPB delivers simple and affordable banking solutions through intuitive interfaces available in 13 languages.

IPPB is committed to provide a fillip to a less cash economy and contribute to the vision of Digital India. India will prosper when every citizen will have equal opportunity to become financially secure and empowered. Our motto stands true - Every customer is important, every transaction is significant and every deposit is valuable.