Airtel Payments aims for 40% YoY revenue growth

Airtel Payments Bank is aiming for over 40% year-on-year (YoY) revenue growth in each quarter during the current fiscal year, said MD & CEO Anubrata Biswas in an interaction with FE.

“We have grown by over 40% YoY (topline). We expect to see similar trend rates over the next few quarters,” said Biswas.

During the June quarter, Airtel Payments Bank witnessed significant growth in its digital business, with mid-tier cities and urban customers increasing their usage of various digital services offered by the bank. Going forward, it plans to launch more cross-sell products during the fiscal year, including a debit card for its rural users and a fully revamped digital banking offering intended for launch over the next two to three quarters.

Regarding cross-selling, the focus will be on its loan referral business, as these entities are not permitted to engage in direct lending operations from their own books. Airtel Payments Bank has a loan referral deal with Axis Bank, which it aims to further scale up, added Biswas.

According to him, payments banks should be allowed to provide small-ticket loans on their own books. “We believe that we can drive financial inclusion at scale if allowed. This is also a position shared by the industry,” he said. Further, Airtel Payments Bank has partnerships with Bharti Axa Life Insurance and Care Health Insurance, which it seeks to expand further through collaborations in loan referral and insurance businesses.

In terms of revenues, the company states that the most significant incremental impact will come from debit cards, followed by the digital offering and cross-sell, in that order.

His comments come in the backdrop of the payments bank reporting its June quarter results, wherein its bottomline grew 143% YoY to Rs 5 crore, and revenue rose 41% YoY to Rs 400 crore.

Airtel Payments Bank‘s total deposits increased by 48% YoY to Rs 1,923 crore as of the end of June, while the total number of monthly transacting users rose by 13% YoY to 55 million during the same period. Although payments banks are restricted from collecting more than Rs 200,000 in fresh deposits from each customer, the current growth trend in overall deposits is expected to continue, according to Biswas.

“We are positioned at the heart of the financial inclusion and digital ecosystem in the country. Therefore, the opportunity is so large that the growth rates are not actually a challenge,” said Biswas. The company is experiencing growth rates ranging from around 15% to 20% (on gross merchandise value or GMV). It has also been focused on building infrastructure in the first quarter, a strategy it anticipates will yield results in the next couple of quarters. The payment bank’s GMV stood at Rs 2.38 trillion on an annualized basis during the quarter ending in June.

• Incremental increase in revenues to be led by debit cards, digital, and cross-sell
• Deposits to continue growing at the current pace of 48% YoY
• Launch of a debit card for rural users and revamped full-suite digital offerings from the mobile app

Financial Express