Carry your cards, ATMs are not dying, BFSI News, ET BFSI

There are various reports and discussions on how ATMs are going to vanish soon. But I don’t find any supportive data to believe in it. Digital payments are adding billions of transactions every month and POS terminals are also trying to add the features of ATMs but ATMs will stay in the system for a long time as cash still plays a dominant role in the economy. In fact, there are many restaurants and stores which do not accept any mode of digital payments and believe in only cash. Here is what RBI data of the last two years shows: ATMs are not dying.

State of ATMs – June 2020

State of ATMs – June 2021

The data shows that there is a slight increase in the total ATMs from 2020 to 2021. By June 2020 total ATMs were 2,34,267 which increased to 2,39,761 by June 2021. The slight decrease is in the number of rural ATMs by PSU banks may be due to bank mergers.

ATMs are a useful product

ATM was one of the biggest innovations in the banking industry much before digital payments. It killed the long serpentine queues at the bank branches where people used to spend hours to get cash. ATMs allow people to withdraw cash anywhere, anytime according to their convenience. RBI has also ensured that banks have enough ATMs and imposes penalty on banks which don’t maintain their ATMs.

Digital versus ATM

With the rise of digital payments, people have certainly shifted to mobile payments which are far more convenient. But that doesn’t mean that they are not using the cash. India’s cash to GDP ratio is 14.7%, which is much higher compared to the OECD countries.

For online shopping and small payments, people are using mobile payments, but for large payments, they still chose either cash or cheque.

The rise of POS

I often find that POS has been another product that is equivalent to ATMs. Over the years POS also added new features and it’s not just a payment receiving terminal. It has also started dispensing cash and that trend is rising. There are more than five million merchants using POS terminals and many of them are offering cash withdrawal. Recently a payment gateway company Mswipe told me that they are dispensing cash around Rs 50 lakh per day at POS terminals. POS will certainly help small-ticket transactions and areas where there are fewer ATMs.

Need for rationalising ATMs

India has on average 20 ATMs for 100,000 people, the global average is 50. I also find a big mismatch in the placement of ATMs in urban areas. There are areas where dozens of ATMs are set up within a vicinity of 2-3 miles, but there are areas where there are no ATMs at all. I think banks and financial institutions should review their placements. Also, ATM machines need to be upgraded with new features that will inform customers about the shortage of cash before using the machine.

Though people are using digital in villages as well, I am aware of people who travel for 10-12 miles to withdraw cash from ATMs. Jan Dhan Yojana has brought millions of people into banking but still there are many more millions away from banking. And they will need cash.