Indian mobile service provider Vodafone Essar will become a business correspondent of ICICI Bank, while competitor Bharti Airtel has announced a joint venture with the State Bank of India (SBI).
The new partnerships will allow for the provision of banking services through, respectively, mobile phones and retailers of mobile phones.
The Vodafone partnership will provide ICICI savings and credit services through mobile phones, which will allow customers to access banking services even if they are far from a bank branch. According to the Cellular Operators Association of India, Vodafone has 124 million subscribers in India as of December 2010. With the distribution promotional strength of Vodafone, the partnership is hoping to utilize its 1.5 million retail points? ability to acquire new customers and service them through the new system.
Slated for rollout in March, the Airtel venture will create customer service points (CSP) in each of the company?s 1.5 million affiliated retail locations through which allowing its 150 million customers to be able to open and manage SBI bank accounts.
By: Noah Lincoff, Research Associate
About State Bank of India (SBI): The State Bank of India (SBI) is a state-owned financial services company in India that was founded in 1955 by an act of Parliament. SBI provides investment, consumer, commercial and private banking services, as well as asset management, pension, mortgage and credit card services. For fiscal year 2009, SBI reports total assets of INR 9.64 trillion (the equivalent of USD 214 billion) and total deposits of INR 7.42 trillion (the equivalent of USD 165 billion), return on assets of 1.04 percent and return on equity of 15 percent.
About ICICI Bank: ICICI Bank Limited, a banking and financial services company in India, operates 2,035 branches in India and 18 other countries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America. ICICI Bank offers personal banking, business and agricultural banking, investment banking, life and non-life insurance, venture capital and asset management services. As of March 31, 2010 ICICI Bank reports total assets of INR 3.64 trillion (the equivalent of USD 78.6 billion).
Sources and Resources:
[1] The Hindu Business Line: “Airtel in pact with SBI for mobile banking services”
http://www.thehindubusinessline.in/2011/01/13/stories/2011011352910600.htm
[2] The Cellular Operators Association of India: “Cellular Statistics.”
http://www.coai.com/statistics.php
MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe Profile: State Bank of India
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=State+Bank+of+India
MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe Profile: ICICI Bank
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=ICICI+Bank
Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at:
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