Airtel Payments Bank With Mastercard To Build Payment Solutions For Farmers, SME

Airtel Payments Bank has partnered with Mastercard to develop customised financial products for Indian farmers and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in a bid to deepen the penetration of financial services in underbanked and unbanked regions, the companies said in a joint statement on Monday.

The collaboration will bring together Mastercard's global and local experience in developing advanced financial solutions and Airtel Payments Bank's distribution network to reach the last mile and its large customer base.

These customised payment solutions such as tap-and-pay NFC (near field communication), credit facility and other neighbourhood banking services are expected to reach remote areas in India to help build a cashless economy and provide farmers access to earnings stability and income growth with 500,000 banking points of Airtel Payments Bank.

Both entities have been working towards driving adoption of formal banking and digital payments in the country, in line with government's vision of 'Digital India' and banking for every Indian, the release said.

The partnership aims at building a digital platform which provides farmers with knowledge about advanced farming techniques and connection to marketplaces, while simultaneously enabling them to receive payments directly in their Airtel Payments Bank account.

The two companies will also work together to create customised solutions for small businesses across the country.

"These solutions will empower small and medium scale enterprises, who have limited access to finance, to make assisted payments, manage their financial and transactional processes, and also avail working capital in these times of crisis," it said.

Airtel Payments Bank and Mastercard will work together to create differentiated card solutions, including solutions for contactless payments via NFC for customers and merchants, it said.