IDFC First Bank
(formerly IDFC Bank) is an Indian private sector bank that forms part of IDFC, an integrated infrastructure finance company. The bank started operations on 1 October 2015, after receiving a universal banking licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in July 2015. It is listed on BSE and NSE.
History
In 2014, the Reserve Bank of India granted an in-principle approval to IDFC Limited to set up a new bank in the private sector. Following this, the IDFC Limited divested its infrastructure finance assets and liabilities to a new entity – IDFC Bank. The bank was launched through this demerger from IDFC Limited in November 2015.
IDFC Bank started operations in 19 October 2015, with 23 branches in Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. It has more than 600 branches across India till 2021. 15 branches are in settlements with a population of less than 10,000. IDFC Bank launched its 100th branch in Honnali, Karnataka, in October 2017.
In January 2018, IDFC Bank and non-banking financial company Capital First announced a merger. Shareholders of Capital First were to be issued 13.9 shares of the merged entity for every 1 share of Capital First. IDFC First Bank was founded as a new entity on December 18, 2018.
Business focus
The bank serves corporate and private customers in India including the infrastructure sector that IDFC specialized in from its founding in 1997. The bank also aims to provide services to people in rural areas and to the self-employed.
The bank IDFC Bank is the first in India to launch Aadhaar-linked cashless merchant solution.
One of its largest loans into e-commerce includes a ₹3 billion (US$40 million) loan to Flipkart. On 8 November 2017, IDFC Bank entered into a strategic partnership with digital payments solution company MobiKwik to launch a co-branded virtual Visa prepaid card for customers of MobiKwik.
On 11 March 2020, the bank announced that it has signed Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, as its first brand ambassador.
It announced the entry into credit card sector with low interest rates and interest free credit in 2021.