The Public sector Bank consortium has started putting orders for ATMs. Earlier, it was done on individual basis by the banks. The step will be beneficial for small lenders in particular. Around 40,000 ATMs are to be installed which would be properly distributed across the country.

Different banks will be given responsibility for the maintenance of ATMs in various zones. The vendor contract will be for a period of seven years. To be eligible for bidding, vendor needs to have an annual turnover of more than Rs. 20 crore for ATM operations in India alone.

The minimum availability of ATM for the customers has been set at 97% in urban areas and 95% in semi-urban and rural areas. Vendors, who fail to maintain the availability, will be penalized.

At present there are about 73,000 ATMs in the country.