Bharti Airtel announced a massive capital infusion of ₹20,000 crore ($2.2 billion) into its newly licensed non-banking financial company (NBFC) arm, Airtel Money Limited.
This investment marks Airtel’s most aggressive move yet to diversify beyond telecom and directly challenge Jio Financial Services and Bajaj Finance in India’s booming digital lending market.
Investment Structure & Funding
The capital will be injected over the next few years to build what Airtel calls a “high-scale digital financial powerhouse.”
- Equity Split: Bharti Airtel will contribute 70% (₹14,000 crore) of the capital, while the promoter group, Bharti Enterprises, will infuse the remaining 30% (₹6,000 crore).
- NBFC License: The announcement follows Airtel Money receiving its formal NBFC license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on February 13, 2026.
- Lending Capacity: Analysts estimate that with a 15% capital adequacy ratio, this ₹20,000 crore base could allow Airtel Money to build a loan book of nearly ₹1 trillion ($11-12 billion).
Strategy: The “LSP to NBFC” Transition
For the past two years, Airtel has operated as a Lending Service Provider (LSP), acting as a middleman to facilitate loans for other banks. Now, it will lend from its own balance sheet.
- Existing Scale: Airtel’s digital credit engine has already achieved ₹9,000 crore in disbursements through its partner-led model.
- Data Advantage: The company plans to leverage its 500+ data scientists and the massive data pool from its 466 million customers in India to drive precision underwriting and real-time risk monitoring.
- Product Focus: The new NBFC will focus on small-ticket personal loans, working capital loans for MSMEs, and credit cards, specifically targeting the underserved “credit gap” in India.
Airtel Money vs. Airtel Payments Bank
It is important to note that these are now two distinct entities with different regulatory powers:
| Entity | License Type | Capabilities |
| Airtel Payments Bank | Payments Bank | Can accept deposits (up to ₹2 lakh), but cannot lend. |
| Airtel Money | NBFC (Type II) | Can provide loans and credit, but cannot accept public deposits. |
Market Impact
The news provided a slight boost to Bharti Airtel’s stock, which rose ~1% to close at ₹1,997 on Monday, as investors cheered the creation of a “new growth engine.” However, the sector faced broader pressure today (Tuesday) due to the 5% crash in the Nifty IT index.
“The expansion is a natural adjacency that will leverage our large customer base to build the next growth engine and further diversify our portfolio.” — Bharti Airtel Official Statement.
