Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank to Close Operations; Transfer Your Balance Soon

Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd, a venture between Aditya Birla Nuvo and Idea Cellular, has decided to shut down operations after nearly 18 months of its existence due to “unanticipated developments in the business landscape that have made the economic model unviable”. The payments bank has already asked customers to transfer their balances before 26 July.

“We will be restricting any further credits (add money) to your account from 26 July 2019,” the Aditya Birla Payments Bank said in a note to customers, adding that “full and complete arrangements” have been made for return of all deposits.

If you are an account holder in Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank, you can transfer the balance through online banking, mobile banking or by approaching the nearest banking point. Customers can also call 18002092265 or write to [email protected] for any queries.

The Aditya Birla payments bank had been struggling to garner deposits, according to in a report in Bloomberg. As of December 2018, the bank had mobilised Rs 5.62 crore in a segment dominated by Airtel Payments Bank and Paytm Payments Bank. Overall, payments banks held Rs 780 crore in December 2018, the report said.

Aditya Birla Nuvo was one of the 11 applicants that were granted “in-principle” payment bank licenses by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in August 2015. They were given a timeline of 18 months to meet regulatory requirements and receive final licenses for launching the payments bank. RBI gave out final licenses to seven out of the 11 payments banks.

Customers in payments banks can deposit up to Rs 1 lakh in their accounts, but these banks can’t give loans. RBI had issued guidelines for payments banks in November 2014 with the objective of improving financial inclusion.

However, most payments banks have struggled to see significant success. A Reserve Bank of India report released in December showed that payments banks have been making losses consistently. “The consolidated balance sheet of payments banks showed net losses during 2016-17 and 2017-18. Even operating profit of payments banks remained negative, although net interest income improved,” the report said.