Tag: Indian banking

Finance

Axis Bank Launches Sparsh Week 2025: ‘Raising the Bar’ Nationwide

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National, Sept 1, 2025: Axis Bank, one of India’s largest private sector banks, has announced the launch of Sparsh Week 2025 (Sept 1–5), a landmark initiative uniting more than 1 lakh employees across 5,868 branches nationwide.

With the theme “Raise the Bar,” this year’s edition emphasizes customer obsession, leadership visibility, and employee engagement at an unprecedented scale. Senior leaders including Amitabh Chaudhry (MD & CEO), Munish Sharda (ED), Subrat Mohanty (ED), and Neeraj Gambhir (ED) will personally visit 40 cities to interact with customers and mentor teams.

“Sparsh is not just a celebration but a reminder of the culture we are shaping – where empathy, innovation, and service excellence define every interaction,” said Amitabh Chaudhry.

Customer Engagement Highlights

  • 🎯 Exclusive Home Loan offers from 7.6%*
  • 💼 Special benefits across Gold Loans, MSME loans, Current Accounts & Health Insurance
  • 🎙️ Let’s Listen Sessions across 5,800+ branches for direct feedback
  • 🚗 Auto test drives & loan offers in select cities
  • 🤝 Felicitation of wholesale clients & corporate partners
  • 🌍 Outreach through Samaroh to foster new relationships

Thematic Customer Days

  • Students: Piggy to Prodigy Day with learning sessions & Bank tours
  • Women: Nari Shakti Diwas with panel discussions & ARISE awareness programs
  • Seniors: Silver Lining – digital banking & fraud prevention workshops
  • Startups & MSMEs: Startup Sangam & networking events
  • Farmers: Krishi Diwas with agri-advisory, soil-testing & Apna Gaon Melas
  • NRIs: Homecoming meets in UAE, Singapore & US
  • LGBTQ+: Pink Economy events celebrating inclusivity

Impact & Scale

From 55,000 customers in 2024, Axis Bank now targets 1.5 lakh+ customers for Sparsh Week 2025 – nearly triple last year’s outreach.

With its four core mantras — Own the Brand, Own the Customer, Act with Speed, Zero Pendency — Sparsh Week continues to strengthen Axis Bank’s position as a customer-first institution in India’s financial ecosystem.

📖 For more details and updates, visit allycaral.com

Business

ICICI Bank to Begin Charging UPI Fees for Payment Aggregators from August 1, 2025

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In a move that could significantly reshape India’s digital payments landscape, ICICI Bank has announced it will introduce fees for payment aggregators on UPI (Unified Payments Interface) transactions, starting August 1, 2025.

This means that platforms acting as intermediaries—such as payment gateways and digital wallets—will now incur charges for processing UPI transactions through ICICI Bank infrastructure. While the bank has yet to publicly disclose the fee structure, the development is seen as a pivotal moment for India’s highly active and fast-growing digital payment ecosystem.

Why It Matters
India’s UPI system, developed by NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India), has so far offered zero-fee transactions to consumers and merchants, with banks and aggregators absorbing operational costs. However, with the sharp increase in transaction volumes and rising infrastructure costs, banks have long debated the need to monetize backend UPI services.

Implications for Fintech & Merchants
Payment aggregators like Razorpay, Paytm, PhonePe, and others may now need to adjust pricing models or absorb the costs, potentially affecting small businesses and merchants who rely on low-cost digital payment solutions.

Analysts say this move might also trigger a trend where other banks follow suit, bringing the long-standing debate on UPI monetization into the spotlight.

Consumer Impact
As of now, the fee is expected to apply only to payment aggregators, not end consumers. However, if aggregators pass on the costs, small transaction-based fees could become the norm in some segments.

Looking Ahead
This decision comes amid broader discussions by the Reserve Bank of India and NPCI about the sustainability of India’s digital payments infrastructure. ICICI Bank’s move will likely influence policy direction and business strategies in the months ahead.

Stay tuned to Allycaral for updates on how this change evolves and what it means for consumers, fintech platforms, and the Indian economy.