Number of ATMs dip in FY25 as digital payments rise

Mumbai: The number of automated teller machines (ATMs) in the country declined marginally in FY25 amid rising digitisation, while bank branch expansion continued, driven largely by public sector banks (PSBs), according to the RBI’s Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India for FY25 released on Monday.

The total number of ATMs fell to 2,51,057 as of March 31, 2025, from 2,53,417 a year earlier. The decline was led by private sector banks, whose ATM network shrank to 77,117 from 79,884 in the previous year. Public sector banks also reduced their ATM count to 1,33,544 from 1,34,694. The RBI attributed the fall to banks shutting down offsite ATMs, noting that increased digitisation of payments has reduced customers’ dependence on ATM transactions.

In contrast, independently operated white label ATMs rose to 36,216 from 34,602 in the year-ago period.

The RBI said PSBs’ ATM networks were more evenly distributed across rural, semi-urban, urban and metropolitan areas, while private and foreign banks remained largely concentrated in urban and metropolitan centres.

Despite the growing adoption of digital channels, banks continued to expand their physical branch networks. As of March 31, 2025, the total number of bank branches stood at 1.64 lakh, reflecting a growth of 2.8 per cent over the previous year. PSBs led branch expansion in FY25, while the share of private banks in new branch openings fell to 51.8 per cent from 67.3 per cent in FY24.

The report noted that more than two-thirds of the new branches opened by PSBs were located in rural and semi-urban centres, compared with just 37.5 per cent for private banks, underscoring the role of state-owned lenders in financial outreach.

On financial inclusion, the number of basic savings bank deposit accounts (BSBDAs) rose by 2.6 per cent to 72.4 crore in FY25, while the aggregate balance in these accounts increased by 9.5 per cent to Rs 3.3 lakh crore. A majority of BSBDAs continued to be serviced through the business correspondent model, highlighting its effectiveness at the grassroots level.

From a deposit insurance perspective, the RBI said 97.6 per cent of accounts were covered as of end-FY25. However, measured by insured deposits, the coverage ratio declined to 41.5 per cent at end-March 2025 from 43.1 per cent a year earlier.