Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank on Monday announced a collaboration for offering financial services, starting with a co-branded credit card for subscribers of the telecom services company. Under the partnership, the companies will provide pre-approved instant loans, ‘buy now pay later’ offerings, and other services. The collaboration will provide Axis Bank support to penetrate deeper into tier 2 and 3 markets, a statement said.

Bharti Airtel MD and CEO for India and South Asia, Gopal Vittal said Airtel is building a financial services portfolio as part of its endeavour to offer world-class digital services to its customers.

“We are delighted to join forces with Axis Bank in this exciting journey. Through this win-win telco-bank partnership, Airtel customers will get access to Axis Bank’s world-class financial services portfolio and exclusive benefits, while Axis Bank will benefit from Airtel’s strong digital capabilities and deep distribution reach,” he said.

The partnership has started with the launch of ‘Airtel Axis Bank Credit Card’ that promises cashbacks and special discounts to the customers.

The credit card will be exclusively available for eligible Airtel customers through the Airtel Thanks app.

“Axis Bank will also use various cyber security services from Airtel. Going forward, the companies will further explore collaborating across Cloud and Data Center services,” the statement added.

Additionally, Axis Bank will leverage Airtel’s messaging platform, video, streaming, call masking and virtual contact centre solutions to enhance digital capabilities.

“This one of its kind collaboration will help widen the access to credit and various digital financial offerings from Axis Bank for Airtel’s 340 million customers.

“On the other hand, we will leverage Airtel’s widespread reach and services ranging from mobility and DTH to utility bill payments offering our customers the opportunity to maximize value,” Axis Bank MD and CEO Amitabh Chaudhry said.