After a decade as a mobile wallet and then a payments bank, the telco’s banking business has little to show for. Sunil Mittal is undeterred.
Chances are that you’ve forgotten that Airtel has a payments bank. We did too, believing that the company has been outdone and outplayed in the deluge of players who’ve entered in the last decade. But if you listen to Airtel’s top brass, they’d tell you that they are far from done. They go a step further, and say that they have come upon a new strategy entirely, one which will offer them success.
Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal has spent a decade and around $500 million trying to marry telecoms and banking. His business aims to break even this year but …
Surendar helps lead the newsroom at The Morning Context as executive editor. Over the years, Surendar has worked in industries from pharmaceuticals to diamonds, as well as a stint as an equity analyst. In his long career as a business journalist, he has led teams at The Times of India, India Today and Fortune India. He was part of the founding team at Forbes India and interned at and published in The Times, London.
Executive Editor
surendar@mailtmc.com
Mumbai