ATMs:

The first bank to introduce the ATM concept in India was the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). It was in the year 1987. Now, almost every commercial banks gives ATM facilities to its customers.

The first bank to cross 1,000 marks in installing ATMs in India is ICICI. SBI is following the concept of 'ATMs in Quantity'. But Private Sector Banks have taken the lead. ICICI, UTI, HDFC and IDBI counts more than 50% of the total ATMs in India.

Public Sector Banks are also taking the installation of ATMs seriously for Indian market. They are either setting up their own ATM centres or entering into tie-ups with other banks. The Corporation Bank has the second largest network of ATMs amongst the Public Sector Banks in India.

The Indian banks have also come up with a 'Swadhan' scheme. Under this scheme, the banks can use each other's ATM at a cost, usually Rs. 35 extra from their customers. The main feature of 'Swadhan Card' are as follows:

No exchange fee charged to change an old ATM card for a Swadhan card.
Rs.3,000 fixed as the ceiling on withdrawal.
Exception made for select customers who can withdraw up to Rs10,000. Still, this is lower than the average withdrawal of Rs15,000 by regular ATMs.
IBA gives banks the discretion to decide a higher maximum amount for withdrawal.
Transactions conducted through any of the member banks appear on a bank statement, which is given only by your own bank.
All transactions conducted in any of the member banks appear on the bank statement, but only your own bank will provide this.

How 'Swadhan Card' works:

All informations and transactions are routed among member institutions through a switch. The switch transmits the information and/or data to bank which has issued the card or to its processor, which on the other hand either approves or declines the transaction request and notifies the switch. The decision of the card-issuing bank's is then routed by the switch to the processor of the ATM, which completes the transaction. The accounts among members are settled and account balances are transmitted at the end of the day to each member institution.

Cost of setting ATM center:

Approximately Rs.1mn it takes for the setting of an ATM center. Rs.1.2-1.4mn per annum is needed for its maintenance. To keep the cost in equilibrium position, there should be around 250-300 transactions per day per ATM.

To overcome or to reach the break-even point, the banks are always encouraging its customers to use the ATMs. Banks like HDFC and Citibank even charge penalty if a customer visits the branch.

NCR India and HMA Die bold are the main two players in this market to set up ATMs in India. The market, according to them is whopping 100% and they are very optimistic to see 30,000 ATMs in India very soon.

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