The third-largest private sector bank in India, Axis Bank, and Airtel Payments Bank have teamed up to digitize the country’s tier III cities and semi-urban regions’ cash collecting systems.
The companies said in a joint statement that Airtel Payments Bank would use the broad reach of its digital-led neighborhood banking model to support Axis Bank with the digitization of last-mile cash collections and would also speed up the payment cycle while helping to free up the bandwidth of field agents who operate across the country.
“We are delighted to join hands with Axis Bank for digitization of last-mile cash collection. Our collection management services reduces the challenges of managing physical cash and also mitigates the risk of cash in transit by digitizing the entire chain. This brings in huge operational efficiencies for our partner as well as their customers,” said Gaurav Seth, chief finance officer and head of institutional business, Airtel Payments Bank.
“This partnership with Airtel Payment Bank is yet another step towards embracing digitisation, offering greater convenience and faster solutions to our vast customer base in the semi-rural regions of the country,” Munish Sharda, group executive, and head – Bharat banking, Axis Bank said.
The collected EMI amount can now be deposited at any nearby Airtel Payments Bank. It will be instantly credited to the agents’ Axis Bank accounts, eliminating the need for them to return to the branch.
Since Airtel Payments Bank locations are open well beyond regular banking hours and on weekends, this procedure will reduce the risk of agents carrying the cash collected over long distances and aid in preventing any delays.
Customers of Axis Bank will soon have access to the 5,00,000 Airtel Payments Bank banking locations to make direct EMI deposits for loan payments. Clients can save time and travel expenses by choosing to pay their EMI at the closest Airtel Payments Bank location.
