MUMBAI, India — Bharti Airtel on Monday announced plans to invest Rs 20,000 crore over the next few years to scale up its digital lending operations through its non-banking financial company subsidiary, Airtel Money Limited, marking a major push into India’s fast-growing financial services market.
The telecom major said the capital infusion is aimed at strengthening its presence in digital financial services and helping bridge India’s credit gap. Of the total investment, Bharti Airtel will contribute 70 percent, while the remaining 30 percent will be infused by the promoter group through Bharti Enterprises Limited.
Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel, said the company’s experience in digital lending has demonstrated its ability to combine technology, data and customer trust at scale.
“Our NBFC expansion strengthens this foundation and reflects our ambition to build a differentiated, future-ready digital lending business — one that stands for trust, innovation, and financial inclusion,” Vittal said.
Airtel Money Limited received its NBFC license from the Reserve Bank of India on February 13, 2026, clearing a key regulatory milestone for the expansion. The company said the move represents a strategic step toward deepening financial inclusion by offering simple, secure and innovative digital financial services across the country.
Over the past two years, Airtel has built a digital lending platform that has already disbursed more than Rs 9,000 crore in loans. The company said its lending service provider model has seen strong growth, supported by disciplined underwriting, portfolio management and real-time risk monitoring.
Airtel added that its digital platform is powered by a data and analytics engine supported by more than 500 data scientists, enabling rapid scaling while maintaining healthy loan performance metrics.
As required under regulatory guidelines, Airtel Money clarified that while it holds a valid certificate of registration from the Reserve Bank of India, the central bank does not guarantee the financial soundness of the company or the repayment of its liabilities. (Source: IANS)
