Vodafone in talks with Piramal Group and HDFC for stake sale in its payments bank

Vodafone is said to be in talks with the Piramal Group and HDFC Bank to sell around 49 per cent stake in its payments bank. The move implies that the operator is planning to sell more than the 26 per cent stake that it has to mandatorily divest, given the Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines which prohibit a foreign firm from holding more than 74 per cent in a payments bank. Vodafone had earlier partnered with the ICICI Bank for its m-pesa mobile wallet.