Bharti Airtel has announced an ambitious expansion of its financial services business, unveiling plans to build one of India’s largest digital NBFC platforms through its subsidiary Airtel Money Limited.
The company plans to capitalise the NBFC with Rs 20,000 crore over the next few years. Airtel will contribute 70 per cent of the capital, while the remaining 30 per cent will be infused by the promoter group via Bharti Enterprises Limited.
The move follows Airtel Money receiving its NBFC license from the Reserve Bank of India. The expansion is aimed at addressing India’s persistent credit gap and accelerating access to formal lending, especially as the country’s formal credit-to-GDP ratio stands at 53 per cent, highlighting significant headroom for growth.
Over the past two years, Airtel has built a high-performance digital credit engine under its Lending Service Provider (LSP) model. The platform has already disbursed over Rs 9,000 crore, supported by robust underwriting, disciplined portfolio management, and real-time risk monitoring. Backed by a data and analytics ecosystem powered by over 500 data scientists, Airtel aims to leverage its digital assets and extensive customer base to scale secure and innovative financial services nationwide.
Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice Chairman, Bharti Airtel, said the NBFC expansion builds on the success of the LSP platform and reflects the company’s ambition to create a future-ready digital lending business focused on trust, innovation, and financial inclusion.
The NBFC’s disbursement journey will be seamlessly integrated with Airtel’s existing LSP platform while maintaining operational segregation to ensure regulatory compliance and customer transparency.
As part of regulatory requirements, the company clarified that while it holds a valid Certificate of Registration, the RBI does not guarantee the financial soundness of the company or the repayment of liabilities.
With this strategic push, Airtel is positioning financial services as a key growth engine, further diversifying its portfolio beyond telecommunications.
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