ATM: With the increasing expansion of UPI in the country, you may feel that payment in cash and the need for cash has reduced, however, it is not so. Cash circulation in the country is at a high level, while the number of ATMs and cash recyclers of Indian banks is decreasing. There are many reasons behind this which you can know about here…
Why are ATMs decreasing in the country?
According to the report published in Economic Times, digital payments are increasing in the country and especially UPI is playing a big role in this. Apart from this, due to the strategic focus on digital transformation in the cities here, the number of ATMs and cash recyclers is decreasing, that is, the focus is on reducing the circulation of cash under the digital mission.
What do RBI figures say?
According to the data of Reserve Bank of India, there has been a significant decline in the number of ATMs in India. The number of ATMs was 2,19,000 in September 2023 and this number has come down to 2,15,000 in September 2024. This reduction in the number of ATMs is mainly due to the reduction in the number of off-site ATMs. The total number of off-site ATMs was 97,072 in September 2022 and it has come down to 87,638 by September 2024, i.e. 9434 ATMs have been reduced in this.
The number of ATMs also decreased due to RBI rules
Ever since the Reserve Bank has reduced the number of free cash withdrawals from ATMs and increased the interchange fees on cash withdrawals from ATMs, there has been a decline in the number and trend of cash withdrawals from ATMs. On this basis, RBI also keeps an eye on the usefulness of ATM.
The number of ATMs in the country is less than global competition
There are only 15 ATMs per lakh people in the country and this is less because the rules for installing ATMs are very strict and expensive. If seen on a global scale, the ATM infrastructure in India looks quite poor.
High use of cash in India
Cash is still being used extensively in India and in the year 2022 it was 89 percent of the total transactions and 12 percent of the total GDP of the country, which is quite high in comparison. From this perspective, it is natural to be concerned about the number of ATMs. According to banking experts, the new trend regarding the locations of ATMs is based on how many people live in the surrounding areas or how much utility of an ATM is at a particular place.
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