Bharti Airtel, India’s top telecom operator through its wholly owned subsidiary Airtel M Commerce Services Limited (AMSL), announced the pan India launch of Airtel Money country’s first of its kind mobile wallet service by a mobile operator. Available now across 300 key cities in India – airtel money is a fast, simple and secure service that allows its users to load cash on their mobile devices and spend it to pay utility bills and recharges, shop at 7,000+ merchant outlets, transact online etc. Apart from serving as an easy alternative to cash or card payment options, airtel money has now become the first mobile based service to offer customers the convenience of instant money transfer from an airtel money wallet to another airtel money wallet and bank accounts. With this, customers can now use airtel money to make payments and transfer money across the country.
The national availability of airtel money follows the success of service’s first phase of launch in Delhi NCR and Chennai in 2011. Airtel mobile customers can self register for airtel money Express Account by dialling *400# from their mobile phones or sign up for the service by walking into any of the 15,000 plus airtel money outlets across the top 300 cities of India and submitting the required KYC documents
Getting Started with Airtel Money
- Subscribe: Dial *400# or register on www.airtelmoney.in or visit nearest airtel money retailer to fill the application form and submit KYC documents (2 copies of identity proof, 1 copy of address proof, 1passport size photo).
- Activate: Simply choose your MPIN to activate the account
- Load cash: Load cash by visiting your nearest airtel retail outlet or through your net banking account
Commenting on the launch, Sanjay Kapoor, CEO – India & South Asia, Bharti Airtel said, “While an estimated 240 million people across India hold bank accounts, more than 90% of country’s population uses cash to pay for its daily needs. Additionally, a majority of customers continue to rely on traditional or time-consuming methods like money orders and cheque remittances when it comes to transferring funds. On the other hand, the penetration of mobile telephony currently enriches the lives of over 900 million people in our country and can facilitate a paradigm shift in the way India transacts. We see the national rollout of airtel money playing a pivotal role in accelerating mobile based commerce in India and look forward to further extending the availability of this service in deeper pockets of the country in weeks to come.”
Using Airtel Money you can –
- Pay bills & recharge – Use this cash in your mobile for making bill payments (e.g. electricity, gas, financial services) and recharges
- Shop – Instead of cash, pay over-the-counter merchants (e.g. nearest kirana store, local chemist), buy movie tickets online and more!
- Transfer – Use your mobile to send money directly to the bank accounts of your friends and family
For airtel money Power Accounts, Airtel has established merchant partnerships with over 1,800 brands across the country – this includes utility providers; state electricity boards viz. BSES, Reliance Energy, Indraprastha Gas, telecom (BSNL/MTNL) and insurance (LIC) and mutual funds, organized retailers (e.g. DT Cinemas, Fun Cinemas, Megamart, Univercell, Apollo Pharmacy) as well as local chemists and grocery stores who will now accept payments via airtel money, thereby ushering a new era in the world of electronic payments.
Additionally, airtel money will work as a convenient payment alternative to debit and credit cards in days to come for online transactions on popular websites like Flipkart, Yatra, Letsbuy and even www.airtel.in. What’s more – customers using airtel money will be able to avail exclusive discounts and attractive offers at various merchant outlets in the market – and save money as they shop!
To know more about airtel money, Airtel mobile customers can dial 121 from their mobile phones or simply visit www.airtelmoney.in. In addition to the website, non-Airtel mobile customers can dial 88-00-01-21-21 for more information.