US ATM giant Diebold cashes in on Indians’ demonetisation woes

MNC manages 1,05,000 ATMS out of India’s 2,04,000 and close to 28,000 POS machines

MUMBAI: Global leader in ATM and POS machines Diebold Nixdorf expects its business to boom with the push for a cashless economy amid the ongoing demonetisation drive. The company, which has just completed integration following the buyout of Nixdorf, now manages a little over 1,05,000 ATMS out of the total 2,04,000 and close to 28,000 POS machines in the country.

It claimed on Wednesday that it is the first to complete recalibration of cash-vending machines and dispense the new banknotes after announcement of the ban of high-value currencies on November 8. Jaivinder Singh Gill, VP and MD, South Asia and head of operations, Asia Pacific, Diebold Nixdorf, said on Wednesday that the Us-based company employed over 800 engineers to achieve this.

On the impact of his business due to demonetisation and the push for a cashless economy, he said, “We expect POS business to grow much faster in the medium term and the removal of all taxes (12.5% excise duty and 4% SAD last week on POS machines) will give an additional fillip to this. ATM business will also continue to grow, especially the software and security side of this market.”

Explaining further, he said the company sees a parallel growth in both cash and non-cash economy and expects ATMS getting continued focus while epos market in the retail segment may see faster growth with tax waiver and official push to go electronic. According to him, Diebold Nixdorf is the largest ATM manufacturer globally also with 33 per cent market share while before the buyout, it was the second.

“When it comes to the domestic market, Diebold Nixdorf is also the largest ATM player with a market share of 49 per cent with over 1,05,000 ATMS. We also have over 28,000 POS units installed for major retailers in India,” Gill said. There are over 1.4 million POS machines deployed in the market.

Asked whether the company will set up a plant in India to manufacture POS units which are currently imported, Gill did not offer an answer. With over 25 years in India, Diebold has an ATM plant and an R&D centre in Goa with an annual volume of 1 lakh machines, a client base of over 100 banks and presence in more than 4,000 cities and towns.

It also has global software development centre in Mumbai and managed services facility in Mumbai and Hyderabad. Its rival NCR Corp has been pushed down to the second slot with a little over 1 lakh cash dispensers in India.