Airtel Payments Bank on Monday announced its customers will get an interest rate of 6 per cent per annum on savings account deposits of over Rs 1 lakh, an increase of 3.5 per cent from the interest rate it offered earlier.

The move follows Airtel Payments Bank becoming the first payments bank to implement an enhanced day-end savings limit of Rs 2 lakh, as per RBI guidelines, the company said in a statement, adding it has over 5.5 crore engaged users across its operations.

Announcing the higher interest rate on savings account deposits of over Rs 1 lakh, Anubrata Biswas, CEO of Airtel Payments Bank, said, “RBI’s increased savings deposit ceiling is a major milestone for payments banks, as this was a key ask from customers.”

“With our unmatched footprint of 5,00,000 banking points and a global-first secure and simple experience, delivered digitally, Airtel Payments Bank offers a market-leading proposition for both the urban digital and under-banked rural customers,” Biswas pointed out.

The new interest rate regime is an important addition to the bank’s suite of solutions. Customers can open an Airtel Payments Bank account within minutes, with a video call from the Airtel Thanks app.

The bank offers a digital savings account — Rewards123 — which offers more value to customers when they transact digitally, using the account.