MUMBAI: Electronic Payment and Services (EPS) has become the fifth company to receive a license to operate white-label ATMs (WLAs) in India, marking the first such approval in a decade. The company plans to deploy 9,000 WLAs nationwide within three years under the brand name EPS Bancs.
Mani Mamallan, chairman and MD of EPS, said that the objective is to enhance banking services, particularly in semi-urban and rural regions, by expanding the geographical reach of ATMs.
“Over the past few years, cash in circulation has consistently grown, maintaining a steady percentage of GDP—around 12%. Despite the rise in digital payments, this growth underscores the enduring utility of physical currency. It also highlights the importance of a diversified payment ecosystem. Poor internet connectivity in semi-urban and rural areas often causes mobile payment devices to fail. ATMs, being fixed in one location, enjoy more stable connections, ensuring smoother transactions and fewer failures,” said Mamallan.
Mamallan said that trust issues with digital payments, particularly with dispute resolution, make ATMs a crucial part of the financial infrastructure in semi-urban and rural areas. Currently, there are five WLA operators in India: EPS, India1 Payments, Hitachi Payment Services, Tata Communications Payment Solutions, and Vakrangee.
White label ATMs are set up, owned, and operated by non-bank entities and authorized by RBI to improve ATM access in underserved regions. Customers using WLAs have a similar experience to using bank-owned ATMs, with the ability to perform transactions like cash withdrawals, balance inquiries, and PIN changes. Banks pay WLA operators a fee for these transactions, similar to the fees they pay when customers use other banks’ ATMs.