State Bank of India (SBI) plans to outsource ATM management

Mumbai – State Bank of India (SBI) plans to outsource the management of some of its ATMs.  It has called for a Request for Proposal (RFP) from vendors to manage about 7,843 cash dispensers (ATMs).

Vendors will be expected to have all capabilities to remotely capture and initiate appropriate action in the event of any problems at these cash dispensers. They will be expected to ensure that the downtime of these ATMs in metro and urban areas is less than 3 per cent, while it is less than 6 per cent in rural areas.

SBI had 32,777 ATMs as of September 30, 2013. It has expanded its network steadily in the past few years, adding about a third of its network (about 11,000 ATMs) in the past 18 months.

ATM operations have however not been profitable, SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya said in an interview to PTI.