SBI and ICICI ink deal with leading telecom companies

The two leading lenders in the country State Bank of India and ICICI Bank have tied up with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar to offer mobile based banking to the customers. The mobile market in India is the second largest and the fastest growing in the world.

To make full use of the available opportunity the two leading banks took the step. The joint venture will be very beneficial for the population residing in the unbanked remote areas of the country. The step would further enhance the electronic payments market in the country.

SBI is the leading bank in the country and Bharti Airtel is the leading telecom service provider in the country with over 150 million customers. SBI and Bharti Airtel will jointly invest 1 billion rupees initially for mobile based banking.

The largest private sector bank in the country ICICI has tied up with the third leading telecom service provider in the country with above 121 million customers. The CEO and Managing Director of the bank Chanda Kochhar said "We are very excited about the partnership with Vodafone which will help ICICI Bank in deepening its base within the country. Mobile penetration is growing exponentially in the country of which the rural market forms a major contributor".

Presently about 60 percent of the population in the country has mobile connection and the sector is adding a staggering 18 million customer per month. The joint venture of the banks with the telecom companies will enhance their accessibility to the rural area in the country.

In all the deal could be very beneficial for the rural population in the country.