Airtel Payments Bank Q1 profit rises 82% as annualised revenue tops ₹3,300 crore

Airtel Payments Bank reported Q1 net profit of ₹19 crore, with revenue up 6.8% to ₹830.5 crore. Growth was supported by digital banking, UPI AutoPay, transit payments and merchant solutions, alongside expanded tolling services in Jaipur and a rural banking network exceeding 500,000 active points.

— Source publishedMon, 24 Aug, 2026, 18:34 IST·First seen Mon, 24 Aug, 2026, 18:35 IST·Source CNBC-TV18 · Companies

What happened

Airtel Payments Bank reported 82% YoY Q1 profit growth and crossed ₹3,300 crore in annualised revenue, driven by digital banking, UPI AutoPay, transit payments

Key facts

  • Net profit ₹19 crore, up 82% YoY
  • Revenue ₹830.5 crore, up 6.8% YoY
  • Annualised revenue exceeded ₹3,300 crore
  • EBITDA ₹107.5 crore, up 31% YoY
  • Customer balances ₹4,389 crore, up 17% YoY
  • Savings account monthly transacting users 29.5 million, up 23% YoY
  • Annualised GMV ₹4,523 billion
  • More than 6.5 million National Common Mobility Cards issued
  • More than 500,000 active rural banking points

Why this matters

Airtel Payments Bank’s 500,000-plus rural banking points and expansion in tolling, transit and merchant payments make it a valuable partner or acquisition-adjacent platform for firms seeking scaled access to India’s financial-inclusion and payments ecosystem.

What to watch

  • Quarterly growth in active merchants, transaction value and merchant-solution revenue.
  • UPI AutoPay mandate volumes and recurring-payment retention.
  • Expansion pace of tolling and transit-payment contracts beyond Jaipur.
  • Deposit growth, CASA mix and revenue per rural banking point.
  • Changes in UPI monetization, MDR policy, subsidies or payment-network incentives.
  • Competitive response from Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay, Jio Financial and bank-led merchant platforms.
  • Expand transit, tolling and recurring-payment integrations into additional cities and state corridors.
  • Use rural banking points to onboard kirana stores and micro-merchants for QR, collections and assisted banking.
  • Bundle Airtel telecom distribution, merchant payments and loyalty offers to increase transaction frequency.
  • Prioritize higher-margin merchant services and partner-led credit rather than relying solely on UPI payment volumes.