Banks draw attention of Govt, RBI to ATM shortage
Leading bankers had flagged the issue in a meeting with officials last month, they said. «We have discussed the issue internally… It was highlighted that one big issue is that ATM vendors do not have the capacity,» said a senior bank executive, adding that accordingly, representations were made both to the government and the RBI.
Industry insiders said the initial reason for low capacity is connected to the 'Make in India' guidelines, which were implemented in FY20, and it took time for vendors to set up Indian operations. The Indian ATM market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9.2% between 2024 and 2032. A second bank executive said another constraint that state-run lenders face is mandatory purchase through the GeM portal.
«Not all ATM vendors are registered there, and we also need more clarity on the process and guidelines to avoid any vigilance action,» he said, adding that banks have sought a meeting with officials from GeM.
ATM operators seek Rs 2 hike in interchange fee for viability
He said they have requested that banks be allowed to float independent requests for proposals (RFPs) for ATMs if all guidelines are met. Bankers have said that the ATM shortage is impacting them more at a time when they are in the process of migrating to lockable cassette mechanisms in ATMs as directed by the RBI.
In 2023, the RBI asked lenders to upgrade their ATMs, where cassettes would be swapped at the time of cash replenishment instead of being filled in machines on the spot.
«While this was to
