The ATM markets in China and India have experienced
explosive growth over the past five years. The next three to five years
will see an even greater increase from about 125,000 ATMs in 2006 to
350,000 ATMs by 2010.
While traditional ATM markets are on the decline,
overseas markets are rapidly becoming attractive venues of growth. They
are the destinations of choice for ATM industry players seeking to sustain
profitability levels. In particular, the rapid development of banking and
financial services in both China and India represents a significant
opportunity for ATM growth.
In a new report, The Dragon and Tiger of the ATM
Markets: China and India, Celent describes how retail banking across
both countries has grown exponentially as consumers’ buying power has
risen, increasing the demand for more flexible and convenient access to
bank distribution channels. With fairly large proportions of the
population being either unbanked or underbanked, particularly in India,
and with low branch density per capita in both countries, financial
institutions face pressure to expand their retail distribution
capabilities to meet growing demand. Given the extremely low penetration
levels of ATMs in both China and India, better leveraging this
cost-effective self-service distribution channel represents a key
opportunity for meeting this challenge.
Spurred by the high growth and competitiveness of
the banking industries in both countries, ATM installations have seen
double-digit growth in each of the past five years. Celent predicts that
the best is yet to come. The next three to five years will see even higher
growth in these two countries from about 125,000 ATMs in 2006 to 350,000
ATMs by 2010.
”Like India, China is experiencing rapid growth in
ATMs, driven by its largely cash-based society, the low density of bank
branches at a time when demand for financial services is accelerating
rapidly, and the need to more aggressively deploy ATMs beyond the largest
metropolitan centres to midsize and small cities and suburban regions,”
says Wenli Yuan, Celent senior analyst
and coauthor of the report.
“In addition to regular ATMs, these markets will
witness high growth in innovative technologies such as biometric ATMs that
cater to the large and underbanked rural population of both countries,”
says Sandeep Hebbar, Celent analyst
and coauthor of the report.
The 34-page report contains 29 figures. A table
of contents is available online.
