The Hindu Business Line : Now, ATMs are not just cash machines

ATMs are on their way to becoming quasi banks with many offering value-added services over and above plain vanilla cash withdrawal and deposit. The ATM network in the county is poised for growth in both numbers as well as the services they offer, say bankers.

"We started our ATM network in 1999-2000. Now more than 50 per cent of all our transactions (including branch, telephone, Internet and ATM) are through ATMs. Nearly 80 per cent of cash transactions are through our ATM network," says Mr Anup Bagchi, General Manager, ICICI Bank.

Cash transactions are just one of the services that ATMs now offer.

ICICI Bank recently launched a free mobile recharge facility for its Internet banking channel for pre-paid subscribers of Airtel, Hutch/Orange and Idea.

It is the convenience of 24x7 banking that attracts consumers, says Mr Aspi Engineer, Vice-President, Retail Banking, UTI Bank. "There has been a steady increase of customers using ATMs for value-added transactions over past one year. Customers now see branch transactions as a waste of time," he says.

A study by the National Council of Applied Economic Research done for Visa International Asia Pacific, released in January this year, says the number of ATMs has grown dramatically in the last five years. In 2000, there were 1,100 ATMs, concentrated mainly in the metros. By 2004, the number had reached 14,000.

Mr Loney Antony, Managing Director, Euronet Services India, which handles ATMs for banks, says, "The usage of ATMs has gone up as more and more banks are issuing debit cards. The growth in the card base is around 40-50 per cent a year."

He adds, "Three years ago, the average transaction per ATM was about 100 a day. Today the average has gone up to 300. This is a clear indication of how transaction volumes have gone up. The amount of cash moved in ATMs is more than Rs 1,00,000 crore a year."

There has been an increase in the value of transactions as well. While the average value of an ATM cash transaction some three years ago was between Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,300, today it is more than Rs 2,000.

Mr Rahul Bhagat, Vice-President and Head - Direct Banking Channels, HDFC, says, "In early 2001, the ATM channel contributed about 30 per cent of our total bank transactions. Now it is around 54 to 55 per cent. This shows that people are migrating from branch to ATMs and have accepted ATMs as a safe and convenient method of transaction."

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