Fewer ATMs, more UPI: RBI data shows subtle but clear shift in how India pays

The number of of automated teller machines (ATMs) in India declined moderately in 2024-25 even as on-site ATMs increased during the year, according to an RBI report.

The total number of ATMs fell to 2,51,057 at end-March 2025 from 2,53,417 a year ago. While on-site ATMs rose to 1,31,323 from 1,26,116, off-site ATMs declined to 1,19,734 from 1,27,301, the report said.

Public sector banks (PSBs) accounted for the largest share of ATMs, followed by private sector banks and white label ATMs, which are owned and operated by non-bank entities.

The independently-run white label ATMs increased to 36,216 from 34,602 in the year-ago period, with nearly 79.4% of such ATMs located in rural and semi-urban centres at end-March 2025.

PSBs also showed a more even distribution of ATMs across population groups, while ATMs of other bank groups were largely concentrated in metropolitan, urban and semi-urban centres.

However, banks continue to open new branches despite the ingress of alternative channels powered by digital technologies, the report said.

As of March 31, there were 1.64 lakh branches in the country, which was up by 2.8 per cent, the report said.

PSBs were more aggressive on new branch openings in FY25, and the share of private banks in the new branch openings declined to 51.8 per cent in the fiscal year from 67.3 per cent in the year-ago period.

The report noted that India’s payment systems continued to register strong growth during the year.

Digital payments grew 17.9% in value terms during 2024-25 and accounted for 97.6% of total payments in the country, while paper-based transactions such as cheques declined to 2.4%. In volume terms, digital payments surged 35%, driven by increased usage for small-value transactions.

As a result, the average value of retail digital payments declined to ₹3,830 in 2024-25 from ₹4,382 a year earlier.

The unified payments interface (UPI) continued to dominate transaction volumes, while the real time gross settlement (RTGS) system accounted for the highest share in value terms. Debit card usage declined further, while credit card transactions continued to rise, the report said.