Airtel Payments Bank announced on August 17, 2026 that Shabnam Sinha will take over as its Chairperson for a three-year term starting October 1, 2026. She succeeds Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, who will step down from the board on September 30 after leading the bank since its inception in 2016. The appointment, approved by the bank\u2019s Board and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), marks the first leadership change at the helm of India\u2019s largest payments bank by revenue in its decade-long history.
About Shabnam Sinha
Shabnam Sinha brings over three decades of leadership experience spanning development finance, financial services, public policy, and institutional transformation. She is best known for her long tenure at the World Bank, where she served as Lead Education Specialist from 2010 to 2025. During her time there, she expanded the World Bank\u2019s India portfolio from US$500 million to US$4 billion, advising governments and institutions across Asia, Africa, and Europe on governance, risk management, and operational effectiveness.
Her work at the World Bank focused on school education, skills development, and labour markets. She led the World Bank\u2019s support to India\u2019s Ministry of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship and the Samagra Shiksha programme through a project called STARS (Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States). Her expertise also extends to AI-driven digital initiatives for public infrastructure and skilling, and she mobilised over US$40 million in sovereign and philanthropic funding for MSMEs, women entrepreneurs, and startups.
Before the World Bank, Sinha served as CEO of ILFS Education and Technology Services from 2007 to 2010, where she handled full profit-and-loss responsibilities, strategic planning, and regulatory compliance. She was also a Senior Advisor at USAID from 2005 to 2007, leading India\u2019s human capital programme and forging public-private partnerships with companies like Microsoft, Wipro, and Pratham. Earlier in her career, she worked at the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) from 1992 to 2005, contributing to curriculum development, textbook writing, and educational planning.
Sinha has been trained at Harvard Business School (Women on Boards, CSR and Development), Oxford University (Impact Investing), and Geneva University (Impact Investing and CSR). She is a member of Women Execs on Boards, a global network of former Harvard Business School alumni.
At Airtel Payments Bank, Sinha has been serving as an Independent Director since December 2025. She chairs the Special Committee of the Board for Monitoring Frauds and is a member of the Risk Management Committee and the IT Committee. Her appointment as Chairperson is subject to RBI approval and will last for three years.
Sunil Bharti Mittal\u2019s Decade at the Helm
Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, was appointed as the Non-Executive Chairman of Airtel Payments Bank in April 2016, around the time the bank received its license from the RBI. He steered the institution through its formative years, overseeing its pilot launch in Rajasthan in November 2016 and its nationwide rollout in January 2017.
Under his leadership, Airtel Payments Bank grew into India\u2019s largest payments bank by revenue. The bank\u2019s revenue from operations reached \u20b93,207 crore in financial year 2025-26, an 18.4% increase from the previous year. Its net profit stood at \u20b9109 crore in FY26, a 73% jump from FY25. Customer balances grew 26% year-on-year to \u20b94,612 crore, while the bank served over 121 million monthly active users and nearly 30 million bank account customers.
Mittal also guided the bank through some turbulent moments. In December 2017, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) suspended Airtel Payments Bank\u2019s licence for Aadhaar-based e-KYC after complaints that accounts were being opened without customers\u2019 consent, with some users finding their LPG subsidies diverted to Airtel Payments Bank accounts. The RBI imposed a penalty of \u20b95 crore on the bank in March 2018. The e-KYC licence was restored in July 2018 after the bank implemented corrective measures.
Reflecting on the transition, Mittal said it had been a privilege to serve as Chairman and expressed confidence that Sinha would build on the bank\u2019s strong foundation. He will exit the board entirely on September 30, 2026.
Airtel Payments Bank: India\u2019s First Payments Bank
Airtel Payments Bank has a significant place in India\u2019s banking history. On April 11, 2016, it became the first entity in India to receive a payments bank license from the RBI under Section 22(1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The company was originally incorporated as Airtel M Commerce Services Limited in 2010 and was renamed after receiving the license.
The bank commenced operations on November 23, 2016, starting with a pilot in Rajasthan before going national in January 2017. It was initially set up as a joint venture between Bharti Airtel (80% stake) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (20% stake). The bank leveraged Bharti Airtel\u2019s vast network of over 1.5 million retail outlets to bring banking services to rural and semi-urban areas.
Today, Airtel Payments Bank operates through more than 500,000 banking points across the country, which it describes as the largest banking-point network in India. These banking points reach three out of every four villages. In rural markets, the bank processes one in four Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS) transactions and one in every two remittances. It also processes approximately 1% of India\u2019s Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT).
The bank was included in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 in December 2021, granting it scheduled bank status. This status places it on par with commercial banks in terms of regulatory standing, though its operations remain constrained by the payments bank framework.
In the broader payments bank landscape, six payments banks were operational in India as of March 2025, with combined deposits jumping 57% year-on-year to \u20b925,605 crore. The sector remained profitable for the third consecutive year in FY25, according to the RBI\u2019s Report on Trends and Progress in Banking.
The Regulatory Framework for Payments Banks
Payments banks are a differentiated category of banks created by the RBI to further financial inclusion. They were conceptualised based on the recommendations of the Nachiket Mor Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low-Income Households (2014). The RBI released its guidelines for licensing payments banks in November 2014 and invited applications in February 2015.
Out of 11 applicants that received in-principle approval in August 2015, including entities like Reliance Industries, Aditya Birla Nuvo, Vodafone m-pesa, and the Department of Posts, only a handful eventually became operational. Airtel Payments Bank was the first to launch, followed by India Post Payments Bank, Fino Payments Bank, Paytm Payments Bank (which later faced regulatory action), Jio Payments Bank, and NSDL Payments Bank.
The RBI\u2019s payments bank guidelines impose specific restrictions on their operations:
| Feature | Payments Bank Rule |
|---|---|
| Maximum deposit per customer | Initially capped at \u20b91 lakh per individual (later revised) |
| Lending | Cannot undertake lending activities |
| ATM/Debit cards | Can issue ATM and debit cards |
| Credit cards | Cannot issue credit cards |
| Prepaid instruments | Can issue prepaid payment instruments |
| Financial product distribution | Can distribute non-risk-sharing products like insurance and mutual funds |
| Minimum capital requirement | \u20b9100 crore |
| CRAR (Capital to Risk-Adjusted Assets Ratio) | Minimum 15% |
Payments banks cannot accept fixed-term deposits or lend directly. Their primary revenue comes from interest earned on investments (mostly in government securities and SLR-eligible instruments) and fees for services like remittances, payments, and distribution of financial products. This structural limitation makes profitability a persistent challenge for the sector.
Significance of the Leadership Transition
The appointment of Shabnam Sinha signals a strategic shift in the governance direction of Airtel Payments Bank. While Sunil Mittal brought entrepreneurial vision and brand credibility as the founder of Bharti Enterprises, Sinha\u2019s background in development finance, risk management, and institutional governance aligns with the bank\u2019s next phase of growth, which is likely to focus on deepening financial inclusion and strengthening compliance frameworks.
Her extensive experience at the World Bank, where she managed portfolios worth billions of dollars across multiple continents, equips her with the expertise to navigate the complex regulatory environment that payments banks operate in. Her role chairing the Special Committee for Monitoring Frauds at the bank already gives her deep insight into the institution\u2019s risk landscape.
The transition also reflects a broader trend in Indian corporate governance, where founder-led institutions are increasingly bringing in professional, independent leadership to steer boards. This is especially important in the financial services sector, where the RBI places significant emphasis on board independence and governance standards as part of its supervisory framework.
For Airtel Payments Bank, which is now the second-largest mobile bank in India by user base and the second-largest player in UPI Autopay mandates, the challenge ahead lies in scaling its digital banking services while maintaining regulatory compliance, expanding its portfolio of financial products, and continuing to serve underserved rural communities through its half-a-million-strong banking point network.
Key Takeaways
- Shabnam Sinha has been appointed Chairperson of Airtel Payments Bank for a three-year term starting October 1, 2026, with RBI approval.
- She succeeds Sunil Bharti Mittal, who served as Non-Executive Chairman since April 2016 and will exit the board on September 30, 2026.
- Airtel Payments Bank became the first entity in India to receive a payments bank license from the RBI on April 11, 2016, under Section 22(1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
- The bank reported \u20b93,207 crore in revenue and \u20b9109 crore net profit in FY26, making it India\u2019s largest payments bank by revenue.
- Airtel Payments Bank serves over 121 million monthly active users through more than 500,000 banking points covering three out of four villages in India.
- Payments banks are a differentiated category of banks created on the recommendations of the Nachiket Mor Committee (2014) and cannot undertake lending activities.
- The bank holds scheduled bank status under the Second Schedule to the RBI Act, 1934, granted in December 2021.
