Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank shuts down operations

The 18-month old Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank, a venture between Aditya Birla Nuvo and Idea Cellular, has decided to shut down its operations. It has asked customers to transfer their balances before July 26.

“We will be restricting any further credits (add money) to your account from July 26, 2019,” the bank says in a note to customers, adding that “full and complete arrangements” have been made for return of all deposits.

If you have an account in Adiyta Birla Idea Payments Bank, you can transfer the balance through online, mobile banking or by approaching the nearest banking point. Customers can also reach out on 18002092265 or write to vcare4u@adityabirla.bank

The bank’s board informed the stock exchanges on July 19. “The decision has been taken due to unanticipated developments in the business landscape that have made the economic model unviable,” the statement says.

Aditya Birla Nuvo was one of the 11 applicants that were granted “in-principle” licenses by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in August 2015. They were given a timeline of 18 months to meet regulatory requirements and receive final licenses for launching payments bank. RBI gave out final licenses to seven of them.

In April 2016, telecom player Idea Cellular merged its subsidiary Idea Mobile Commerce Services with the payments bank to form Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank that launched its operations on February 22, 2018. Aditya Birla Nuvo held 51 percent stake in the company.