1st time in 5 yrs: ATM nos. fall throughout India | India Information

NEW DELHI: For the primary time since not less than 5 years, the variety of ATMs within the nation has fallen with a lower seen throughout all segments – metro cities, city and semi-urban centres in addition to rural areas, govt instructed Parliament on Monday.
On the finish of Sept 2024, the variety of ATMs within the nation was pegged at 2,55,078, as towards 2,57,940 a 12 months in the past, a decline of simply above 1%. The sharpest lower of two.2% was seen in case of rural areas, the place the rely fell to 54,186 on the finish of Sept. In the course of the interval, metros reported a 1.6% dip to 67,224, the RBI information shared in Parliament confirmed.
“As knowledgeable by the general public sector banks (PSBs), the explanations of closure of ATMs by the banks, inter-alia embody, amalgamation of banks, low hits, lack of business viability, relocation of ATMs and so on,” minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary stated in Lok Sabha.
Bankers stated that the rise of UPI and playing cards as a fee instrument has additionally diminished the necessity to use money, making a number of ATMs unviable. Shoppers have been utilizing UPI to pay for the whole lot from greens to auto rides and even higher-value purchases.
“Over the previous 9 years, India has witnessed a major deepening of economic inclusion and a exceptional surge in digital funds, pushed by initiatives corresponding to Jan Dhan Yojana, proliferation of UPI (Unified Funds Interface), and widespread adoption of cell web. UPI transactions have elevated 25 fold up to now 5 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 (until Sept ’24),” Chaudhary stated.