Bharti airtel has launched its mCommerce service in Chennai, which became the second city to get the services after Gurgaon (NCR). Airtel Money, as the service is known, enables users to make cashless payments using their mobile phones.
The company has struck partnership with 750 merchants across the city for the services.
Users can use the service by loading cash on their mobile phones on an Airtel retail outlet. They can use it to pay bills, recharges, shopping and make payments.
Sriram Jagannathan, chief executive officer, mCommerce, Bharti Airtel, said “While India has traditionally relied on cash transactions, with time – we have seen a changing trend with the adoption of credit and debit cards.”
The Airtel Money customers will also be exclusively entitled for discounts and other schemes.
It was in 2010 that Airtel was given the license to use Semi Closed Wallet by the Reserve Bank of India. The company has designed a secure and robust backend system to offer India’s first mobile wallet service by any telecom operator. Airtel intends to start the service across several other key cities in India in a phased manner.