No IPO Plans In Near Future, But Regulatorily Due In 3 Years, Says Airtel Payments Bank MD

While Airtel Payments Bank has no listing plans in the near future, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Anubrata Biswas believes that the bank's IPO will be regulatoryly due in the next three years.

"There are no listing plans in the near future but listing is mandated for a payment bank with a net worth. Our net worth is Rs 488 crores as of March. Sooner or later, in the next three years, an IPO is regulatoryly due," Biwas told NDTV Profit on the sidelines of the Global Fintech Festival 2024 on Thursday.

As of now, the payments bank has 80–90 million monthly transacting users and the bank plans to cross 100 million users by the end of this financial year, Biswas said.

He also said that the payments bank is increasing its focus on having more bank account users and that it is heavily investing in the urban digital space. "We expect to see rapid growth in our savings bank account users," Biswas said.

Airtel Payments Bank is a regulated fintech and is said to have increased its market share after its peer Paytm Payments Bank crisis accelerated.

Paytm Payments Bank used to be the largest bank for merchant payments on UPI and the largest digital wallet player, but after its crisis earlier this year, it has led to an increase in new account openings for Airtel Payments Bank.

"In the last 6–8 months, we have seen rapid growth in both revenue and user growth. All businesses put together, we have a 50% on-year revenue growth at Rs 2,400 crores of annualised revenue," Biswas told NDTV Profit.

On Jan. 31, the Reserve Bank of India had asked Paytm Payments Bank to wind down its operations by March 15 due to persistent compliance issues and supervisory concerns.

This action included a ban on accepting fresh deposits and doing credit transactions after Feb. 29. Then, on Feb. 16, the central bank extended the deadline to March 15.

When asked about seeking a small finance bank license, Biswas said that it would be unlikely for the bank because of its promoter but remains hopeful that the regulator brings policy changes, which will allow payments banks to lend small amounts.

Bharti Airtel is the parent of Airtel Payments Bank.