BENGALURU: ATMs have been of great help after the demonetization drive initiated by the government, and no matter the long queues outside the ATMs, they have been of great help during this period of cash crunch. You may find it strange and weird, but the fact remains that no matter which bank has an ATM, 50 percent of it is run by ATM operators, who earn commission from each transaction made. However, after demonetization, the ATM operators are incurring heavy losses every day.

In November the industry that manages ATM reported a loss of the magnitude of 500 crore. Same can be expected in December and now the operators want the government to make up for the losses. 

“While our revenues are zero, our costs have tripled. We ran additional shifts, we reconfigured all ATMs in minimum time,” V Balasubramanian, president (Transaction Processing and ATM service), FSS, told the Economic Times. 

But the fact remains that ATMs have been the saviors in times of distress after demonetization and it seems natural on their part to ask for compensation. "If the government can compensate toll operators for loss due to demonetization, they should do the same for ATM operators," Navroz Dastur, MD, NCR India - the largest ATM manufacturer, which also manages networks, told the ET.

Read Also:

India's Economy Trumped Britain In 2016

Nine Of Top 10 Companies Add 71,964 Cr In M-Cap, ITC Biggest Gainer