Of India's 2.38 lakh ATMs, about one lakh or even more may be closed down by March 2019.  In a report brought out by the Confederation of ATM Industry (CATMi), closure of the ATMs is inevitable in view of the high costs being incurred by ATM developers due to various regulations.

Here are some of the causes:

Recent regulatory changes concerning hardware and software upgrades;

Mandates on cash management standards;

The cassette swap method of loading cash, which is causing costs of Rs 3,000 Cr for the industry.

Demonetisation: The ATM industry, including managed service providers, brown-label ATM deployers and white label ATM operators, are still reeling under the shock of demonetisation.

About 15,000 white label ATMs too could be closed.  Rural India will be most affected by the shutting down of ATMs.  The Jan Dhan bank account holders from villages will face difficulties as a consequence.