Availability of personnel for cash and ATM maintenance is turning out to be a major concern for the ATM operators working on behalf of the banks.

The government has included banks and ATMs as part of the essential service and banks have also waived fees on cash withdrawal at other banks’ ATMs. But the lack of public transport has made it difficult for employees engaged in the sector to be present for work in usual numbers.

“After the initial issues with lack of clarity over ATMs and the agencies managing them being part of the essential services, we are no longer facing challenges on cash vehicle movement. However, we do have issues with the availability of personnel who have to report for work to board these cash vehicles. While some are facing difficulties such as lack of public transport and probe by police, many have gone back to their hometowns,” said Rustom Irani, managing director and CEO of cash business, Hitachi Payment Services.

“In terms of availability of cash, we don’t see much of an issue. But cash management companies are not operating with the entire workforce. Some staff, who have gone to remote areas, are not able to come back because of lack of public transportation,” said K. Srinivas, MD and CEO of BTI Payments Pvt Ltd.

Moreover, concerns exist over a longer downtime in case ATM machines face a technical fault that requires the presence of an engineer.

“There is nothing like work from home here. Individuals have to physically go to the ATMs. If there are people stuck and can’t travel because of lack of public transport, obviously there will be a shortage of manpower,” said Srinivas.

ATM service providers are filling up more cash at the machines to reduce the downtime.