Just days after launching the Airtel Payments Bank, Airtel is now offering talktime to drive up customer acquisition.

Airtel has announced that it is offering one minute of talk time for every Rupee deposited in the new Airtel Payments Bank. These free minutes, which are valid for a period of 30 days, can be used to make Airtel to Airtel calls (Local/STD). the banking service is already offering a rate of 7.25 percent per annum on savings accounts deposits.

Speaking about the plans, Shashi Arora, MD & CEO, Airtel Payments Bank, said, “We are leveraging Airtel’s telecom ecosystem to bring banking services to the doorsteps of every Indian. We are confident that this additional benefit along with the industry-best interest rate on deposits will encourage customers to open accounts with us and give a big boost to customer acquisition. We are also undertaking a massive drive to enrol over one lakh merchants in Rajasthan by the year-end, who will not be charged anything for accepting digital payments from Airtel Payments Bank customers. We believe this will boost the digital payments ecosystem hugely and reduce dependence on cash.”