Spice Money deploys 1 lakh micro ATMs in rural India

Spice Money witnesses over ₹1,000 crore worth of transactions on a month-on-month basis on its micro-ATM network. (MINT_PRINT) — Spice Money witnesses over ₹1,000 crore worth of transactions on a month-on-month basis on its micro-ATM network. **(MINT_PRINT)**

2 min read . Updated: 17 Aug 2021, 03:56 PM IST Livemint

Spice Money covers 95% of the rural pin codes in India with more than 7 lakh ‘adhikaris’ or banking correspondents on its network

Mumbai: Fintech company Spice Money on Tuesday said it has established ATM network with 1 lakh micro-ATMs operating across rural India.

The highest number of traditional ATMs installed by any bank in the country currently stands at approximately 60,000, making Spice Money the fastest growing micro-ATM network in the country, it said in a statement, adding that it witnesses over ₹1,000 crore worth of transactions on a month-on-month basis on its micro-ATM network.

Spice Money, as a company integrating technology into the rural financial network, is enabling its ‘adhikaris’ or banking correspondents, next-door kirana stores, stationery shops or any individual with access to internet, to equip themselves with the micro-ATMs and offer essential banking services of cash withdrawal and deposit to their local communities, it said. The company covers 95% of the rural pin codes in India with more than 7 lakh ‘adhikaris’ on its network.

Sanjeev Kumar, chief executive officer, Spice Money, said that its mission since its establishment has been financial inclusion of the rural population, thereby, bringing in greater financial freedom to end-users as well as the rural entrepreneurs, ‘adhikaris’.

“As of March-end 2021, India had just 2.39 lakh ATMs for a population of over 1.3 billion. This number establishes the inadequacy of the ATM infrastructure in our country to address the needs of the semi-urban and rural economy that is growing on the back of direct benefit transfers through Jan Dhan accounts. The ATM network in these parts has, in many cases, witnessed a de-growth, causing the cash-heavy economy to struggle with low access to digital financial services," said Kumar.

Earlier this year, Spice Money introduced an initiative offering the company’s micro-ATM devices at effective zero cost to further accelerate its vision of financial inclusion and encourage ‘adhikaris’ to become a part of building an extensive ATM network.

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