Networking major Cisco has launched its ‘Connected ATM solution’, which will help banks in the country deploy automated teller machines (ATMs) in remote locations faster and in a cost-effective manner.
The solution will offer banks connectivity options through 3G and CDMA networks, compared to VSAT and CDMA options available otherwise, Cisco said.
“This wireless connectivity option, when coupled with a service provider wireless data plan, provides a cost-effective, rapidly deployable, reliable, and highly secure backup solution for remote sites and branch offices,” Cisco India and SAARC Senior Vice President (Systems Engineering) Sanjay Kharade said.
Cisco claims that cost of deployment of such sites could bring down cost to half.
“A deployment based on VSAT typically would cost Rs 30,000-40,000, but using this architecture and 3G and CDMA- based connectivity, the cost can come down to less than Rs 15,000-20,000 per site,” Kharade said.
Cellular technology deployment also brings more bandwidth per ATM for additional applications to be provisioned in the ATM, while it is faster to deploy, which allows banks to quickly set up networks, he added.
Banking, financial services and insurance is a major vertical for Cisco and it expects to garner 20-30 per cent of the new deployments being made.
“In the next two years, we would look at at least having 20-30 per cent share of the new deployments,” Kharade said.
According to research firm Gartner, Indian financial services industry is expected to spend Rs 37,700 crore on IT products and services in 2012, an increase of 17.4 per cent over 2011 revenue of Rs 32,100 crore.
This would include spending on internal IT (including personnel), hardware, software, external IT services and telecommunications.
Cisco has already conducted pilots for its new solution for three private and 2 public banks.
Most private and public sector banks, financial institutions, including (bourses) stock exchanges and insurance companies in the country, are already Cisco customers for other solutions.
These include HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, United India Insurance Corporation, New India Assurance, National Insurance Corporation, Life Insurance Corporation and Bank of Baroda, among others.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in the past, had expressed concern about the penetration of ATMs in the country being very low compared to other emerging markets.
Currently, there are about 90,000 ATMs spread across the country. Of this, nearly one-third are owned by SBI Group.