The notion that a bank-operated ATM is the only place you can draw money from a cash-dispensing machine is about to change very soon.
Indicash, the only operational white label ATM service, launched its network of 15 cash-dispensing machines in the city on Thursday.
Sanjeev Patel, CEO, Tata Communications Payment Solutions Ltd. (TCPSL), which operates the country’s first non-bank branded ATM service, said a network of 90 ATMs would be installed in Bangalore by September-end, and 60 more in the rest of the State. Apart from Bangalore and its outskirts such as Devanahalli, Indicash ATMs will become operational by September-end in Mysore, Hubli-Dharwad and Belgaum. The company plans to establish 1,000 ATMs within three years, Mr. Patel said. Observing that Karnataka currently had a network of 9,300 ATMs, Mr. Patel said this was “significantly below the benchmark of about 14,000 ATMs that will be needed if one relates the number of ATMs needed to service the number of operational accounts in the State.”
TCPSL, a fully owned subsidiary of Tata Communications Ltd., plans to establish a network of 15,000 ATMs in the country within the next three years. The company, which is already functioning as a banking outsourcing vendor, servicing a network of 27,000 ATMs in partnership with 37 banks in the country, was well placed to tap the business, Mr. Patel claimed. He claimed that more than half of the commercial point-of-sale traffic flowing through the network of credit card swiping machines across the country goes through the network managed by TCPSL. Although 11 other companies had got “authorisation” from the Reserve Bank of India to operate white label ATMs, TCPSL was the only one to have started operations, he said. “We have got a head start over our competition,” he said.
“Location is everything in the ATM business, being on the right side of a road can be the difference between winning and losing in this business,” Mr. Patel said. He said studies show that most customers prefer an ATM near their residence. Anyone with a domestic debit card can withdraw, and as stipulated by the RBI, the first five transactions are free. However, the TCPSL will charge the customer’s bank Rs. 15 per transaction.
Indicash is sponsored by Federal Bank, which enables its participation in the National Financial Switch, the platform that enables the linking of all ATMs in the country.
