The total number of ATMs in the country as of September 2020 was 234,244. The major ATM networks in India are National Financial Switch (NFS), CashTree, BANCS, Cashnet, and the SBI Group network. In addition, most ATM switches are also linked to VISA or MasterCard gateways (for cards affiliated to VISA and MasterCard). The NFS is the largest of these
networks. National Financial Switch (NFS): The National Financial Switch (NFS) was established by IDRBT to facilitate connectivity among the ATM switches of all banks, addressing the limitations of other ATM networks and creating a reliable national infrastructure. Banks can connect to NFS either from their own switches or through the switch of their group. The NFS is now operated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). The Clearing Corporation of India (CCIL) is the settlement agency for all transactions routed through NFS. Forty-six banks participate in this service, covering a network of 234,244 ATMs as at end-September 2020. ATM networks operate in clusters or other cooperative arrangements. A stylised transaction flow in an ATM network is shown below:
Where the issuing bank and acquiring bank are the same: when customer A uses its own bank ATM, the transaction is switched by the bank’s ATM switch to its own gateway. 2. Where the issuing bank and the acquiring bank are different: customer B (of issuing Bank B) uses the ATM of Bank A (the acquiring bank), the transaction is routed to Bank A’s switch. The Bank A switch has the option to route the transaction to one of the networks (shown with dotted lines): (a) If Bank A and B are members of the same closed user group ATM Network (eg Cashnet, CashTree etc), the transaction is routed to the issuing bank from the network switch. (b) If Banks A and B are not members of the same group, they exercise the option of routing the transactions to NFS (if Bank B is a member of NFS) or the VISA or MasterCard switch for transmission to the issuing bank. ATMs are used mainly for cash withdrawals and balance enquiries. Savings bank customers can use a different bank’s ATM free of charge for the first five transactions (of any type, financial or non-financial) in a month, with subsequent transactions being charged (the charge not to exceed INR 20). Customers pay no charges for using the ATMs of their own bank.
From Mastercard and Visa perspective how Payment is getting processed via DMS or SMS way , a post soon would be coming. so stay tuned. More additional interface documents or business flows usage.