NEW DELHI: For the first time since at least five years, the number of ATMs in the country has fallen with a decrease seen across all segments – metro cities, urban and semi-urban centres as well as rural areas, govt told Parliament on Monday.
At the end of Sept 2024, the number of ATMs in the country was pegged at 2,55,078, as against 2,57,940 a year ago, a decline of just above 1%. The sharpest decrease of 2.2% was seen in case of rural areas, where the count fell to 54,186 at the end of Sept. During the period, metros reported a 1.6% dip to 67,224, the RBI data shared in Parliament showed.
“As informed by the public sector banks (PSBs), the reasons of closure of ATMs by the banks, inter-alia include, amalgamation of banks, low hits, lack of commercial viability, relocation of ATMs etc,” minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in Lok Sabha.
Bankers said that the rise of UPI and cards as a payment tool has also reduced the need to use cash, making several ATMs unviable. Consumers have been using UPI to pay for everything from vegetables to auto rides and even higher-value purchases.
“Over the past nine years, India has witnessed a significant deepening of financial inclusion and a remarkable surge in digital payments, driven by initiatives such as Jan Dhan Yojana, proliferation of UPI (Unified Payments Interface), and widespread adoption of mobile internet. UPI transactions have increased 25 fold in the past five years – from 535 crore in FY 2018-19 to 13,113 crore in FY 2023-24. Over 8,566 crore UPI transactions for Rs 122 lakh crore have been registered in FY 2024-25 (till Sept ’24),” Chaudhary said.
