Cash transactions at ATMs using debit, credit and prepaid cards registered a 47 per cent dip in volume and a 49 per cent dip in value in April because of the nationwide lockdown from March 25.

“There has been a very large dip in cash withdrawals from ATMs in April, and we believe it is because of the Covid-19 imposed lockdown across the country from March 25. The subsequent halt in commercial activities and the slowing down of the economy plus stress in the job market meant very less need for cash and, therefore, transactions at ATMs dipped hugely,” said Rustom Irani, MD and CEO, cash business, Hitachi Payment Services.

“As the lockdown gets lifted, we expect transactions to pick up,” he said.

According to K. Srinivas, director of the Confederation of ATM Industry, the dip in transactions is more prominent in urban areas than in rural parts. Further, while digital transactions overall have declined, the volume of transactions at micro ATMs rose, indicating the localised concentration of transactions.

The drastic fall in transactions has hit the revenue of private ATM operators who want the Reserve Bank of India and the government to expedite the revision in interchange fees, set at Rs 15 per transaction.

The RBI had formed a six-member committee in June last year to review the existing structure of costs and charges for ATM transactions. The committee has submitted its findings in December and there has been no further action on this.

“While revenues were impacted in a manner unprecedented because of the reduction in the number of transactions, operating costs remained the same and in some cases increased due to transport and logistic issues which has been a very big challenge,” said Irani.