ICICI Bank might explore tie-ups with new banks

ICICI Bank might explore tie-ups with new banks

ICICI Bank, the country’s largest private sector lender, has said it will be keenly watching the progress made in the payments banks space before deciding on a tie-up.

“We'll watch the progress in both and will continue to move forward, we have tie up with Fino and Vodafone,” said Chanda Kochhar, managing director and chief executive officer of ICICI Bank.

Both Fino PayTech and Vodafone M-Pesa have been granted payments bank licences by Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday. Vodafone, along with ICICI Bank, had launched the mobile payments service under the name M-Pesa. On the other hand, Fino, a payments technology solutions firm, is promoted by ICICI Bank.

Though SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya has raised concerns over the entry of payments banks in the system, Kochhar believes that instead of being competition, it will complement the existing banks.

“The entry of new players will enhance the financial ecosystem and will also make existing banks technology savvy and get them to come out with new products,” Kochhar said.

Source:Banking Updates.