The Foreign Investment Promotion Board has cleared gold-loan company Muthoot Finance’s proposal to set up white-label ATMs in the country.
Muthoot, which had received the RBI nod for the plan in June, is expected to set up its first batch of ATMs next month in one of the southern States. The company, which has also sought RBI’s permission to set up a bank, has plans to establish 9000 ATMs across the country in the next three years. The first 1000 would be set up in the next one year.
A company press note said 65 per cent of the ATMs would be located in semi-urban and rural areas in order to increase financial inclusion. The white-label would be of different types: standalone, through-the-wall, drive-in, mini and moving ATMs. They would be placed at strategic locations such as shopping areas, bus-stands, cinema theatres and schools.
White-label ATMs will not sport the label of any bank and each transaction will be charged a small fee. An ATM costs Rs 5-6 lakh and the operating cost is upwards of Rs 10,000 a month.