My experience with Airtel payment bank - Total worst

My experience with Airtel payment bank - Total worst

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After the news of Airtel offering 7.25% interest on savings, common man in me transferred Rupees 10K to Airtel payment bank (hereafter referred as APB)

Now APB asked me for biometric authentication which will be done at nearest kirana store.Here,how can I trust an unknown person producing my biometric?What if he activates a SIM card using my biometric? So, I didn't do that. Where is APB'S door step banking?

APB also promised 1 min talk time for every rupee deposited. Where are my 10K mins? Later I found that maximum talk time is 500 mins that too only to Airtel.

Now,my aim is to get back my 10K. I was happy to find an option of bank account transfer. To my shock, I can transfer Rs. 5k per day with Rs. 115 rupees as convenience fee. (I am not booking a flight ticket to pay APB convenience fee)

Later, I found that APB charges 0.65% for cash withdrawal. No bank charge for cash withdrawal. The commercial say that 'My money, My wish' . I tried to spend at super markets. Not even one shop accepted in a metro like Hyderabad. (May be some teething problems. But too early to show in advertisement without the ground work done)

Here is list of charges at APB.

APB provided a virtual master debit card. With that details, I loaded cash to State bank buddy and Paytm wallets and transferred to savings account at free of cost. During cash loading, the payment failed many times and had to contact customer care every time. Paytm and other banks wallets are far better than APB to transfer funds.

APB commercial also say that, ‘A bank, but a unique and different’. I don't understand what's different in APB. Here, merchant cash deposit/withdrawal is already in place in rural areas. Mobile banking and internet banking is provided by almost all banks and charges no fee or nominal fee when you transact using them. You can withdraw cash at your convenience. I think APB is a different bank, which charge you with new type of fee that you haven't heard earlier.

You want to deposit Rs 1,000/-, at the end of the year, you will get Rs 72.50 as interest. For such a small amount, paying the charges, keeping your funds idle, how can you justify opening airtel payment bank account??

In case if you want to deposit big amounts,say, Rs 1 lac, you may get Rs 7250/- (Approx) int rate provided you don't withdraw. Many banks offer similar int rates on one year deposits. If you want good interest and flexibility to use your money, I would suggest to deposit your money in a bank. Almost all banks provide credit card against deposits. Use the credit card at your convenience. It will also help to improve your credit score. Many banks take credit decisions based on your credit score. This helps your loan process easier. These days, even employer is tracking your credit history before giving appointment letter.

Also, banks provide good offers across all sites. Especially SBI and CITI BANK. Every month Flipkart and Amazon comes with discounts on these cards. Apart from cash back, credit cards give you reward points. CITI bank offers good reward points. Every 3rd month I receive Amazon gift card worth Rs 1K on redeeming reward points. You may mis all these benefits if you choose APB.

So, for simple 7.25% int rate, APB with too many restrictions to use your money, it is not at all recommended.