Bharti Airtel has become the first telecom operator to launch prepaid cash cards in India India; the Airtel Money service, according to a statement from the company, is live in Gurgaon, and Airtel plans to launch it across the country, in a phased manner. The service is being pitched to customers as an alternative to cash transactions, allowing them to use their mobile phones to make payments. The service allows users to pay bills and recharge their mobile phone, and they can also shop and make payments. Note that it's available for Airtel customers only, and unlike other prepaid payment cards, it is not carrier agnostic; it's targeting Airtel's connection base of 149 million (at last count, though a small percentage of that base might be inactive). Airtel is one of the 17 companies to be given a prepaid payment instrument license by the RBI. Customers will have to, as per RBI guidelines, submit KYC documents (2 photocopies of proof-of-identity, 1 copy of proof-of-address and a passport size photograph), following which the Airtel SIM will be upgraded to a 64 K SIM. What's notable is that any loading of money in the Airtel Money account will be separate from a prepaid mobile calling recharge - you can't use your prepaid mobile calling balance to make a payment. Cities Launched, Merchant Network Airtel says they've only launched in Gurgaon and are targeting a base of 3000 merchants in the city, before a rollout in Delhi-NCR. However, their website indicates that they have…
