MUMBAI: Electronic Payment and Services (EPS) has grow to be the fifth company to obtain a license to function white-label ATMs (WLAs) in India, marking the first such approval in a decade. The company plans to deploy 9,000 WLAs nationwide inside three years below the model identify EPS Bancs.
Mani Mamallan, chairman and MD of EPS, stated that the target is to improve banking providers, notably in semi-urban and rural areas, by increasing the geographical attain of ATMs.
“Over the past few years, cash in circulation has consistently grown, maintaining a steady percentage of GDP—around 12%. Despite the rise in digital payments, this growth underscores the enduring utility of physical currency. It also highlights the importance of a diversified payment ecosystem. Poor internet connectivity in semi-urban and rural areas often causes mobile payment devices to fail. ATMs, being fixed in one location, enjoy more stable connections, ensuring smoother transactions and fewer failures,” stated Mamallan.
Mamallan stated that belief points with digital funds, notably with dispute decision, make ATMs a essential a part of the monetary infrastructure in semi-urban and rural areas. Currently, there are 5 WLA operators in India: EPS, India1 Payments, Hitachi Payment Services, Tata Communications Payment Solutions, and Vakrangee.
White label ATMs are arrange, owned, and operated by non-bank entities and licensed by RBI to enhance ATM entry in underserved areas. Customers utilizing WLAs have a comparable expertise to utilizing bank-owned ATMs, with the flexibility to carry out transactions like money withdrawals, stability inquiries, and PIN modifications. Banks pay WLA operators a payment for these transactions, comparable to the charges they pay when prospects use different banks’ ATMs.
