Bharti Airtel to invest Rs 20,000 crore to expand digital lending biz via NBFC arm

Mumbai: Bharti Airtel on Monday announced plans to invest Rs 20,000 crore over the next few years to expand its digital lending business through its Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) subsidiary, Airtel Money Limited.

The telecom major said the fresh capital infusion will help strengthen its presence in India’s fast-growing financial services sector and narrow the country’s credit gap.

Of the total Rs 20,000 crore investment, Airtel will contribute 70 per cent, while the remaining 30 per cent will be brought in by the promoter group through Bharti Enterprises Limited.

Gopal Vittal, Executive Vice Chairman of Bharti Airtel, said the success of the company’s lending platform demonstrates its ability to combine technology, data and customer trust at scale.

“Our NBFC expansion strengthens this foundation and reflects our ambition to build a differentiated, future-ready digital lending business – one that stands for trust, innovation, and financial inclusion,” Vittal mentioned.

Airtel Money Limited recently received its NBFC licence from the Reserve Bank of India on February 13, 2026.

The company said the move marks a strategic expansion aimed at deepening financial inclusion and offering simple, secure and innovative digital financial services to customers across India.

Over the past two years, Airtel has built a digital lending platform that has already disbursed over Rs 9,000 crore in loans.

The company said its lending service provider (LSP) model has achieved strong growth, supported by disciplined underwriting practices, portfolio management and real-time risk monitoring.

It added that its digital platform, backed by a data and analytics engine powered by more than 500 data scientists, has enabled it to scale up quickly while maintaining healthy loan performance metrics.

As part of the regulatory requirements, Airtel Money also clarified that while it has received a valid certificate of registration from the RBI under the RBI Act, the central bank does not guarantee the financial soundness of the company or the repayment of its liabilities.

IANS