Airtel Payments Bank Names Shabnam Sinha Chairperson, Sunil Mittal To Step Down In September

Bharti Airtel has announced the appointment of Shabnam Sinha as the new chairperson of Airtel Payments Bank, effective October 1, 2026. Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, will step down as non-executive chairman and from the bank's board on September 30, 2026. The appointment has been approved by both the Reserve Bank of India and the bank's board, as per an exchange filing by Bharti Airtel.

Mittal, who was appointed non-executive chairman in April 2016, played a significant role in transforming Airtel Payments Bank into India's largest payments bank by revenue. Under his leadership, the lender expanded its consumer and enterprise businesses, with over 121 million monthly active users and nearly 30 million bank account customers. The bank's services are accessible through the Airtel Thanks app and over 500,000 banking points across India, covering three out of every four villages in the country.

Sinha, an experienced banker with more than three decades of experience in development finance, financial services, public policy, and institutional transformation, joins Airtel Payments Bank as an independent director and chair of the bank's special committee for fraud monitoring. She is also a member of the risk management and information technology committees. Sinha aims to maintain the bank's growth, expand its reach, and enhance its contribution to financial inclusion through technology-driven services.