Six years after demonetisation, deployment of ATMs set for biggest spike

ATM deployments had hovered between 225,000 and 235,500 units, before sniffing the 260,000-mark recently

Six years after demonetisation, deployment of automated teller machines (ATMs) is set for its biggest spike.

Request-for-proposals (RFPs) floated by banks show an order book for 17,000 ATMs to date in the current fiscal year (FY23), which had also sought interest for the upkeep of another 45,271 units. The order book (as of November 10) includes recyclers (machines in which you can deposit and withdraw cash).

This latter aspect is a clear indicator that deployers of ATMs are seeking to reduce their cash-loading costs even as the channel itself gets a new lease of life — reimagined, of course. Recyclers are costlier