IBM and BTI Payments have signed a Rs 260 crore deal, in which the latter will use IBM's ATM solution to deploy and manage its ATMs, reports ET. The deal will be valid for 7 years. BTI Payments has over 3,000 white label ATMs (WLA) with plans to expand to 9,000 ATMs by March 2017. India1 ATMs, as they’re known, will expand to the states of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand this quarter. BTI claims to reach over 5 million rural customers every month in 150 districts and 2,700 villages, and is present in 8 states. It has partners in Kotak Mahindra Bank, Federal Bank and ANZ, with plans to add other banks. White label ATMs provide cash, but are owned and operated by non-banking companies and do not bear any labels. The payments company is also looking to shift to an operating lease and rental model for its ATMs, from a capital purchase model. In December, the company was planning to add another 1,000 ATMs, the goal being to have 4,000 ATMs by March this year. RBI approves 100% FDI: In September last year, the government approved a 100% FDI under the automatic route for non bank entities (aiming to set up WLAs) operating cash machines and had a net worth of at least Rs 100 crore and kept that amount at all time. ICICI Venture stake: Way back in 2013, ICICI Venture had picked up a strategic stake in BTI Payments, a subsidiary of Banktech Group, Australia, for Rs…
