With a thrust on financial inclusion, banks are focusing on expanding their reach in a cost-effective way. This has spawned the need for heavy investment in technology and electronic payment channels.
As banks are looking at such infrastructure as ancillary assets, wanting to focus on core activity, they’re reluctant to commit their resources here, throwing space open for other players. Much of this activity is getting outsourced to the private sector.
Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), a key segment in electronic payments, are set to more than double in number over the next two to three years. At present, they number a little over 1,00,000, according to National Payments Corporation data.