Tata Communications’ ambitious move to set up automated teller machines that will not be proprietary to a particular bank (called white-label ATMs) is set to create employment opportunities for around 3,500 persons, especially in semi-urban and rural areas.
“We expect that for every 30 white-label ATMs we set up, there will be a requirement for 6-7 people.
There will be a need for security guards, staff for cash loading/unloading and other administrative purposes,” Srinivasa Addepalli, Chief Strategy Officer of Tata Communications, said on the sidelines of a news briefing here.
White-Label ATMs are to be set up by non-banking entities on behalf of ‘sponsor banks’, but they would not carry the brand label of any bank, and would be accessible to card-holders of all the banks for a certain fee.
The company has received Reserve Bank of India’s nod to set up 15,000 white-label ATMs over the next three years, 67 per cent of which will be in semi-urban and rural areas. If the target is achieved, then 3,500 new jobs will be created in the next three years.
May outsource
However, Tata Communications Payment Solutions (TCPS), the fully-owned subsidiary responsible for this business, may choose to outsource its work to some partners and other temporary staffing agencies for managing its ATM networks
The company also hopes to get more women involved in the management of white-label ATMs, said Addepalli.
Today, the Tata group company has become the first non-banking entity to establish white-label ATMs, under the Indicash brand.
The first such ATM was inaugurated at Chandrapada, a village in Thane district of Maharashtra, where the nearest ATM otherwise is 5 km away.
Private sector lender Federal Bank has agreed to be the first sponsor bank for this initiative. With Indicash, customers can use the ATM cards provided by their respective banks and conduct the first five transactions free of cost.
The bank whose ATM card is used will have to pay TCPS Rs 15 per transaction and Rs 5 for every balance enquiry, said Sanjeev Patel, Chief Executive Officer of TCPS.
The company expects around two million people to use the Indicash ATM network over the next three years.