White label ATMs: Safe to assume the business is a resounding flop?

The business dynamics are stacked against white label ATMs, which could impact the government's goal of financial inclusion

Almost a decade after Mint Road an­nounced its white label au­tomated te­ller ma­chine (WLATM) policy, just about ev­eryone is unanimous it has been a re­sounding flop. Had it fired the way imagined, there would have been at least double the current number of ATMs at 234,357.

At the heart of the mess is interchange — the pay-out by a card-issuing bank when you swipe at other banks’ ATMs, including on WLATMs. “It has not been revised since 2012, despite requests from the industry. It has to move up to Rs 18 from Rs 15 for cash transactions and to Rs