Banks allowed to open ATMs without approval: RBI

The Reserve Bank today allowed banks to open ATMs outside their branches without permission from the central bank.

"It is proposed to allow scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) to set up offsite ATMs without prior approval," the RBI said in its annual monetary policy.

The RBI further said a group would be constituted to review the existing framework of the branch authorisation policy for providing greater flexibility and enhanced penetration.

KPMG's head of financial services, Abizer Diwanji, said ATM delicensing would improve banking efficiency considerably and overall cost-income ratios.

According to branch authorisation policy, banks are given permission to open, close and shift all categories of branches including ATMs at a time, normally once a year, and the approval is valid for one year from the date of communication.