Anti-Cash Drive: 2000 ATMs Shut Down By Banks In Last 10 Months!

Govt of India’s cashless movement is now being aggressively pushed by all banks, all over the nation.

As per latest data coming in from Reserve Bank of India (RBI), 2000 ATMs have been shut down in the last 10 months.

This means only one thing: Banks are saying no to cash.

Is this causing inconvenience to the general public?

RBI: 2000 ATMs Shut Down All Over India

RBI’s latest data is stating that as many as 2000 ATMs have been shut down all across India, between May 2017 and February 2018.

There is an interesting twist here: While on-site ATMs have been reduced, off-site ATMs have increased, albeit marginally.

On-site ATMs are present inside the bank branch’s premises, while off-site ATMs are present outside the branch, in various locations.

As of now (May 2018), there are 107,630 on-site ATMs in India, against 110,116 on-site ATMs which existed in February 2017.

At the same time, off-site ATMs have increased to 99,029 from 98,360 in the same period.

If we talk about India’s largest bank: SBI, then they have massively reduced their on-site ATMs. From 26,150 ATMs in February of 2017, SBI now has just 26,505 ATMs.

PNB also reduced their on-site ATMs by 655 on-site and 467 off-sites, in the same period.

As per DT Franco, General Secretary, All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), banks are reducing ATMs in order to save money in maintenance and upkeep of the ATMs.

This Means Cash Crunch Is For Real?

Last month, we had reported about slow but gradual panic setting in, as cash dried up across all ATMs in India. Cash demand in India suddenly increased to Rs 45,000 crore in a day, even as Rs 2000 currency note vanished.

Small businesses were hurt, and even mobile prepaid recharges came down, all over the nation.

SBI finally allowed cash withdrawals from PoS, and Govt. started raiding on cash hoarders to recover the cash.

Several states in North East and remote regions witnessed huge inconvenience due to a shortage of cash.

Now, as banks have confirmed that ATMs are being shut down, it is now clear that cash usage is something which is not being encouraged by Govt., and we may see more cashless incentives for encouraging more digital transactions.

Have you faced inconvenience due to cash shortage? Do let us know by commenting right here!