Airtel Payments Bank names Shabnam Sinha as chairperson, succeeding Sunil Mittal

Synopsis

Shabnam Sinha will become Airtel Payments Bank chairperson from October 1, 2026. She succeeds Sunil Bharti Mittal, who steps down after serving since 2016. Sinha brings over three decades of extensive leadership and board experience. The bank currently serves over 121 million monthly active users nationwide. Sinha aims to build on growth and strengthen digital financial services.

Sunil Mittal exits, Shabnam Sinha to lead Airtel Payments Bank

Airtel Payments Bank has announced a leadership transition, with Shabnam Sinha set to succeed Sunil Bharti Mittal as chairperson from October 1, 2026, an exchange filing by parent firm Bharti Airtel said on Monday.

Mittal, founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, will conclude his tenure as non-executive chairman and step down from the bank’s board on September 30. He has served as chairman since Airtel Payments Bank was appointed in April 2016.

Sinha, currently an independent director on the bank’s board, will serve as chairperson for a three-year term. Her appointment has been approved by the board and is subject to approval from the Reserve Bank of India.

At Airtel Payments Bank, Sinha chairs the Special Committee of the Board for Monitoring Frauds and is a member of the Risk Management and Information Technology committees.

The bank said it now has more than 121 million monthly active users and nearly 30 million bank account customers. Its services are delivered through the Airtel Thanks app and more than 500,000 banking points, which it describes as the largest banking-point network in the country.

Airtel Payments Bank said its network reaches three out of four villages across India. It has also expanded into consumer and enterprise banking and emerged as the country's second-largest mobile bank and Unified Payments Interface Autopay player, according to the company.

Sinha brings more than three decades of leadership and board experience spanning development finance, financial services, public policy and institutional transformation. She has also worked with the World Bank, advising governments and institutions across Asia, Africa and Europe on governance, risk management and operational effectiveness.

Mittal said the bank had evolved from an accessibility-focused initiative into an institution serving millions across urban and rural India. Sinha said her priorities would include building on the bank's growth, strengthening digital financial services and expanding its reach among customers and communities.