Second Serve, First Principles: Shilpi Kapoor's quiet rebellion in FinTech

Time of India

5 days ago

In an era where trust in digital banking is fragile and fraud lurks behind every link, Airtel Payments Bank is betting on a counterintuitive idea: that being your second bank account may be its strongest advantage.
At the heart of this strategy is Shilpi Kapoor, Chief Marketing Officer of
Airtel
Payments Bank, who calls it 'your safe second account' — a low-risk, high-convenience platform designed for everyday transactions. No loans, no long queues, no paperwork. Just simple, secure banking.
In a recent conversation for the CXO Connect series, Kapoor unpacked how trust, inclusion, and insight-led marketing are powering the bank's journey from 100 million users toward its next billion.
'My Next Billion...': Airtel Payments Bank CMO Shilpi Kapoor On How To Expand Fintech Customer Base
Financial Inclusion Meets Everyday Use
Airtel Payments Bank isn't your typical bank. It can't issue loans or offer credit cards. What it can do — and what Kapoor focuses on — is bring the unbanked and the digitally hesitant into the financial ecosystem. 'We serve both ends of the spectrum,' she explains. 'A gig worker in a Tier 5 town and an urban customer in Delhi might both need a fast, frictionless way to bank — just for different reasons.'
For one user, the Payments Bank might be the first account ever opened — a tool to receive government subsidies, send money home, or scan a QR code at a kirana store.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Free P2,000 GCash eGift
UnionBank Credit Card
Apply Now
Undo
For another, it's a clean, compartmentalised space to manage online payments without worrying about phishing links draining a salary account.
'We realised 77% of urban users wanted a safe secondary account — not their main bank account, but one they could control and limit,' she adds.
One-Click Panic Button? Yes, Please
Kapoor isn't just leading a branding campaign — she's helping build features rooted in behavioural insight. One example is Fraud Alarm, a one-touch killswitch that immediately freezes all outgoing transactions from your account.
'If you've clicked on something suspicious, or your phone's compromised, you shouldn't be fumbling through IVRs. Just slide the button. Everything stops. Risk teams are alerted instantly.
'
The feature is part of what Kapoor calls an industry-first approach to trust-building. The bank also enables instant CKYC-based onboarding — no branch visits, no endless paperwork, just a smartphone and Aadhaar. For women entrepreneurs running cloud kitchens or home services, that's game-changing.
'40% of new accounts today are opened by women,' she says. 'Not because we ran a pink campaign, but because we made it simple and private.
'
From Mass Adoption to Lifetime Value
Kapoor is quick to challenge one of FinTech's favourite vanity metrics: DAUs and MAUs. 'It's not about how many times a customer opens the app. It's about how they engage with you over time. Lifetime value is what matters.'
To that end, Airtel Payments Bank has developed dynamic behavioural cohorts.
Every new user enters a 30–60–90 day 'baby care' phase where they receive tailored communication — via WhatsApp, SMS, or vernacular how-to videos — based on engagement levels. Someone checking their balance obsessively gets a different nudge from someone paying their electricity bill regularly. The goal is not spam, but personalisation with purpose.
Creativity, Meet
Data
. Now Shake Hands.
Kapoor describes her approach as a 'love marriage that was arranged' — the merging of creativity and data.
'Data tells you where to go. Creativity tells you how to reach there.'
She recalls a campaign that initially focused on convenience — 24/7 banking, zero queues, local access. But user research flipped the script. 'Consumers said safety mattered more than convenience. That changed the tone of the campaign entirely. We went back to the drawing board.'
This theme — humility before insight — recurs often. Whether it's repositioning the bank, tweaking feature sets, or creating video content, Kapoor insists on iterative thinking.
'Don't fall in love with the Gantt chart. Listen to the user.'
Media Mix in a Multi-Tiered Market
Airtel Payments Bank operates without physical branches. Which makes trust even more crucial. Kapoor's media strategy reflects that dual challenge.
Digital gets the lion's share of spend (60% and rising), with hyperlocal vernacular targeting. 'My urban customer is on
Instagram
. My Tier 4 customer might still trust a newspaper or a poster at their local kirana.' Print is used sparingly — to drive trust for high-visibility launches like the NCMC metro card campaign in Delhi NCR.
Outdoor media appears where it matters: metro stations, train stops, or local hubs.
Not a Joke
Kapoor has also led purpose-driven campaigns like #NotAJoke, which ran around April Fool's Day. It featured influencers who had themselves been duped by phishing or fake links. 'We wanted to show that fraud doesn't discriminate. If it can happen to someone savvy, it can happen to anyone.' The goal? Not fear. Just education. With a little bit of relatability.
What Makes a Modern CMO?
For Kapoor, the role of a marketing leader today goes beyond storytelling. It's about agility, tolerance for failure, and letting the team breathe.
'Failure is not fatal. But not trying is,' she says. She draws boundaries: no weekend calls, no late-night pings. 'If I can't get my point across in nine hours, I shouldn't try doing it in hour ten.'
She believes in empowering colleagues, not managing employees. 'You want people to challenge the way things have always been done — but they won't do that if they're afraid of being wrong.'
Driving Alone, Thinking Loud
When things get overwhelming, Kapoor hits the road. Literally. 'I love driving. Alone. With a great playlist and a hazelnut coffee stop somewhere along the way. It's my space. My reset.'
She doesn't believe in glamorising burnout. 'In India, being busy is a status symbol. But what are we racing toward? Sometimes slowing down lets you see things clearly.'
Final Thought
In a world racing toward disruption, Kapoor's approach is refreshingly grounded. Don't chase the headline. Solve a problem. Don't just build faster tools. Build safer ones. And if you're going to be second — own it, build trust, and let first place worry about catching up.
Stay informed with the latest
business
news, updates on
bank holidays
and
public holidays
.
Discover stories of India's leading eco-innovators at Ecopreneur Honours 2025