ADVERTISEMENT

Here’s why many ATMs are still offline

November 11, 2016 02:26 pm | Updated December 02, 2016 02:53 pm IST

Customers wait outside Sydicate Bank to exchang Rs. 500/- and Rs. 1000/- notes for new ones at Perambur on Friday. Photo: V. Ganesan

As the country grapples with the demonitisation of old Rs.500 and Rs.1000 currency notes, ATMs are supposed to provide currency notes of Rs.100 and Rs.50 from today, after a nationwide shutdown of two days.

But most people who lined up at different ATM kiosks were left disappointed as many of them remained non-functional.

Here, a top official with an ATM manufacturer explains the delay in getting the ATMs online.

ADVERTISEMENT

“All the ATM ‘cassettes’ have to be manually configured to hold the incoming Rs. 100 notes and also the new notes to be issued in Rs. 500 and Rs. 2,000 denominations. Cassettes are “boxes” fitted inside the ATM to dispense cash to customers.”

“Most ATMs in India have four separate cassettes to hold different denominations of cash, their configurations vary as per the currency they hold. Till now, most ATMs held two cassettes for Rs. 100 notes and one each for Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes. Now, this configuration will have to be changed manually. So we’ll have to send technicians to all the ATMs in the country to make the desired change,” says Navroze Dastur, Managing Director, NCR Corporation, India & South Asia.

This is a Premium article available exclusively to our subscribers. To read 250+ such premium articles every month
You have exhausted your free article limit.
Please support quality journalism.
You have exhausted your free article limit.
Please support quality journalism.
The Hindu operates by its editorial values to provide you quality journalism.
This is your last free article.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT