Euronet Services to expand network, services

Euronet Services India Private Limited (ESIL), a subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed Euronet Worldwide, is expanding its network and also the range of services to be offered on the ATMs established and managed by it in the country.

The company is expecting an increase of over 50 per cent in its revenues during the current fiscal on the last year's level of Rs 55 crore.

"The number of our ATMs will be increased from the existing 1,200 to 2,000 by March 2006. We are also expanding the scope of services being provided by our ATMs. Instead of providing just withdrawal and balance enquiry facilities, we are planning to provide mini statement, cheque request and mobile top up facilities," ESIL managing director, Loney Antony, told Business Standard.

ESIL, whose ATMs are currently being utilised by seven banks, is holding talks with five more banks to outsource its network. "This will help banks redeploy their capital on productive purposes rather than investing in ATMs," Antony said.

Apart from setting up its own ATMs, ESIL has started a shared ATM network services in the country called Cashnet. A multilateral network, Cashnet facilitates banks to join into a group to share their ATM networks.

Started with just three banks, Cashnet now has 10 banks with a combined network of 6,000 ATMs across the country. The members of Cashnet include Standard Chartered Bank, IDBI, Centurion Bank, Bank of Punjab, Corporation Bank, Dhanalakshmi Bank, UTI Bank, Citi Bank, Development Credit Bank and HDFC.

Antony is expecting that the number of ATMs in the country would swell from the existing 20,000 to over 1 lakh in the next 10 years. "Except that of State Bank of India, the ATM networks of other banks have not penetrated more than 400 cities in the country," he said.