New Delhi: The Airtel Payments Bank is also preparing for a change of its leadership as Shabnam Sinha will become chairperson of the bank from October 1, 2026, replacing Sunil Bharti Mittal. Mittal’s term as a non-executive chairman of the bank will end on September 30, when he leaves the bank’s board after taking office in April 2016. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the tenure for Sinha to be three years.
The change isn’t necessarily a new chairman for Airtel’s telecom services, however. It is directly tied up with the Airtel Payments Bank. The move, however, could prove to be significant for the digital financial services business of payments bank.
A shift towards digital banking and financial services
Airtel Payments Bank was founded by Sunil Mittal and went from a banking initiative for accessibility to a digital banking platform. As of this writing, the bank already has 121 million monthly active users, and has already reached a total of almost 30 million bank account holders and hiked its number of banking points in the country to over 500,000.
The medium might shift to focus more on digital banking, financial inclusion, risk management and long-term growth with the new Shabnam Sinha CTO at the helm.
Sinha is already an independent director on the bank’s board. She also serves as the Chair of the Special Committee for Monitoring Frauds and on the Risk Management Committee and IT committee. This means that she has prior knowledge about the way the bank functions, technology and banking regulations.
What can change under Shabnam Sinha?
The most significant of the disparities may be in leadership style. Mittal has a rich entrepreneurial and business experience while Sinha has more than three decades of experience in development finance, financial services organizations, public policy and institutional transformation. She has also served governments and institutions with advice in the field of governance, risk management and operational effectiveness, as part of her career with the World Bank.
Airtel Payments Bank’s previous focus may help it focus more on financial inclusion, customer protection, risk management, and responsible digital banking.
The bank is also expected to invest more in technology as the digital payments and mobile banking trend is gaining momentum in India. Sinha has stated that she is looking to drive further momentum within the bank and bring its reach to its customers, partners and communities.
Will customers notice an immediate change?
Airtel Payments Bank customers may not have much to worry about in the immediate future. The bank’s current services and day-to-day operations should remain the same.
The larger changes will probably come in the future when new digital services appear, as well as with more robust security systems, better risk management strategy and to reach more customers.
In conclusion, the hire of Shabnam Sinha marks a new chapter for Airtel Payments Bank. Both Sunil Mittal’s stewardship of the bank’s scale and its reach and Sinha’s might in governance, financial inclusion and sustainability of digital growth could be possible areas of collaboration for the bank. The effect of the leadership shift will be more apparent as she assumes her new role of three-year term in October.
