KOLKATA: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted a white-label ATM licence to Electronic Payment and Services (EPS), creating a pitch for faster expansion of the ATM network to support the cash economy. The award of the licence comes after a gap of a decade.
White-label ATMs are owned and operated by non-banking entities, and customers of any bank can use them.
Mumbai-based EPS is backed by investors like the UK’s Apis Partners and Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank FMO. The licence has made it the country’s fifth white-label ATM operator alongside Tata Communications Payment Solutions, India1 Payments, Hitachi Payment and Vakrangee. The RBI had last issued this licence in 2014 to India1 Payments. Earlier, three other companies had surrendered their licences.
EPS will set up, own, and operate WLAs under this licence, founder and chairman Mani Mamallan told ET. At present, EPS manages over 10,300 ATMs for banks across the spectrum.
“This approval marks a crucial step forward after a decade-long pause in issuing new WLA licences, paving the way for expanded ATM availability and enhanced banking services in tier-3 cities and beyond,” he said.
