Airtel has started the countdown to the nationwide launch of its mobile wallet solution. Airtel Money, launched in January 2011 as a pilot in Chennai and Delhi/ NCR, has opened its doors to Airtel customers all across India, ahead of the official launch of the service tomorrow.
Registration for the Express account is free and enables the user to make utility payments and purchase rail/ flight tickets on various portals online. An Express account comes with a daily limit as well as maximum account balance of Rs. 10,000.
A customer can upgrade to a Power account by paying Rs. 50 as a processing fee and filling the necessary paperwork at the nearest authorized Airtel money outlet or Airtel relationship centre. Power accounts get enhanced privileges like ability to pay for movie tickets, shopping and other extras like insurance premium, subscriptions & donations. Power accounts can also transfer money to other Airtel Money customers as well any bank account via NEFT transfer.
Power accounts come with an enhanced daily limit and maximum account balance of Rs. 50,000. Both account types have a single transaction limit of Rs. 5000, unless you are using a special Airtel SIM (available right now only in Delhi and Chennai), in which case no transaction limit applies.
There are no minimum balance requirements. Minimum amount you can spend is Rs. 5 while minimum amount you can transfer to a bank account or Airtel Money customer is Rs. 10.
Basic information| Description | Express account | Power account |
|---|---|---|
| Account open charges | Nil | Rs. 50 |
| Minimum Account Balance | Nil | |
| Single Transaction Limit | 5000 (unless using special SIM) | |
| Daily Limit | Rs. 10,000 | Rs. 50,000 |
| Maximum Account Balance | Rs. 10,000 | Rs. 50,000 |
| Transaction | Express account | Power account |
|---|---|---|
| Airtel payments (bills, recharges etc.) | Free | |
| Non-airtel utility payments | Rs. 10 | |
| Travel ticket booking (online) | 1% of transaction amount, subject to a maximum of Rs. 50 | |
| Movie ticket booking | Not available | Free (introductory offer) |
| Shops, restaurants etc | Not available | Free |
| Send money to Airtel money customer | Not available | Rs. 5 for transactions up to Rs. 500, Rs. 10 for transactions above |
| Send money to bank account | Not available | 2% of transaction amount, subject to minimum of Rs. 10 |
Source: Airtel website
Airtel Money is expected to compete with other mobile payment solutions like Paymate. Paymate works across all mobile operators and thus, theoretically, has a larger customer base it can target. But Airtel has the trust factor and the ability to integrate the solution with its existing offerings going in its favour.
While this initiative is to be appreciated, the services on offer right now do not seem very different from what customers can already do via mobile banking. Besides, how are you expected to buy a flight ticket with a 5000 transaction limit? We expect this limit to be done away with fast.
The shortcomings aside, it does give Airtel an opportunity to build a customer base as it waits for NFC technology to go mainstream (like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus). That is when things will get really exciting in the mobile payment space, giving Airtel a ready-made customer base to tap into.
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