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Airtel to Invest Rs 20,000 Crore in Digital Lending, Eyes Financial Inclusion

Bharti Airtel has unveiled plans to invest Rs 20,000 crore over the coming years to significantly expand its digital lending operations through its NBFC subsidiary, Airtel Money Limited. The investment, with 70% coming from Airtel and 30% from the promoter group, aims to strengthen its position in India's financial services sector and address the credit gap. The company, which recently received its NBFC licence from the RBI, highlights that its existing platform has already disbursed over Rs 9,000 crore in loans. This strategic move is focused on leveraging technology and data to offer secure, innovative financial services and deepen financial inclusion across the country.

Key Points: Airtel Invests Rs 20,000 Crore to Expand Digital Lending Business

  • Rs 20,000 crore investment plan
  • 70% from Airtel, 30% from promoters
  • Aims to narrow India's credit gap
  • NBFC licence secured from RBI in Feb 2026
  • Platform has already disbursed Rs 9,000 crore
2 min read

Bharti Airtel to invest Rs 20,000 crore to expand digital lending biz via NBFC arm

Bharti Airtel announces a massive Rs 20,000 crore investment to grow its NBFC arm, Airtel Money, aiming to deepen financial inclusion in India.

"Our NBFC expansion... reflects our ambition to build a differentiated, future-ready digital lending business - Gopal Vittal"

Mumbai, Feb 23

Bharti Airtel on Monday announced plans to invest Rs 20,000 crore over the next few years to expand its digital lending business through its Non-Banking Financial Company subsidiary, Airtel Money Limited.

The telecom major said the fresh capital infusion will help strengthen its presence in India's fast-growing financial services sector and narrow the country's credit gap.

Of the total Rs 20,000 crore investment, Airtel will contribute 70 per cent, while the remaining 30 per cent will be brought in by the promoter group through Bharti Enterprises Limited.

Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel, said the success of the company's lending platform demonstrates 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 mentioned.

Airtel Money Limited recently received its NBFC licence from the Reserve Bank of India on February 13, 2026.

The company said the move marks a strategic expansion aimed at deepening financial inclusion and offering simple, secure and innovative digital financial services to customers across India.

Over the past two years, Airtel has built a digital lending platform that has already disbursed over Rs 9,000 crore in loans.

The company said its lending service provider (LSP) model has achieved strong growth, supported by disciplined underwriting practices, portfolio management and real-time risk monitoring.

It added that its digital platform, backed by a data and analytics engine powered by more than 500 data scientists, has enabled it to scale up quickly while maintaining healthy loan performance metrics.

As part of the regulatory requirements, Airtel Money also clarified that while it has received a valid certificate of registration from the RBI under the RBI Act, the central bank does not guarantee the financial soundness of the company or the repayment of its liabilities.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

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Rohit P
Rs 20,000 crore is a huge commitment. Shows they are serious about competing with Paytm, PhonePe, and Bajaj Finance in the fintech space. As an Airtel user, I just hope their customer service for financial products is better than their sometimes frustrating telecom support.
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Aman W
Financial inclusion is a great goal, but we must be cautious. The disclaimer about RBI not guaranteeing repayment is important. People should understand it's not a bank deposit. Digital lending apps have caused many problems with harassment. I hope Airtel maintains high ethical standards.
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Sarah B
Interesting to see a telecom giant pivot so heavily into finance. The infrastructure of 500 data scientists is impressive. This could be a game-changer for credit access in rural India if they leverage their network reach properly.
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Karthik V
Already disbursed Rs 9,000 crore? That's massive growth in just two years. Airtel Thanks app is already quite useful for payments. Adding seamless lending could make it a one-stop financial app. Good for competition!
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Nisha Z
My concern is data privacy. Airtel will have our call records, data usage, payment history, and now financial data. They need to be absolutely transparent about how this data is used and protected. The RBI should keep a close watch.

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