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"The contract we received from the State Bank of India and our contracts with other banks in India made us the country's market leader," Hosangady said during a conference call from Mumbai, where Diebold India has its headquarters.
Hosangady, however, declined to disclose how many ATMs Diebold India shipped in 2008.
Late last year, State Bank of India awarded Diebold India a contract to supply the bank with 2,740 ATMs. The machines are a combination of cash dispensers and full-function ATMs made specifically for India's market.
"Sixty percent are cash dispensers, and 40% are full-function ATMs," Hosangady says. Diebold India will complete the installation of the ATMs and cash dispensers in bank branches and retail locations by the end of May, he says.
Some of the full-function machines are equipped with barcode readers, enabling bank customers to pay bills at the ATMs. Consumers hold the invoice near the machine's barcode reader, which interprets the amount due. The ATM then deducts the payment from the consumer's bank account, says Masooma Pathre, a Diebold India spokesperson.
All of the full-function ATMs and cash dispensers operate on much lower electrical power compared with conventional ATMs, Hosangady says. "Customers are looking for lower-power ATMs to reduce their costs," he says.
State Bank of India awarded a smaller contract to
Like Diebold, NCR views India as a key market. NCR, the world's largest ATM manufacturer based on 2007 shipments, says India is one of world's emerging ATM markets.
State Bank of India, which is based in Mumbai, operates the nation's largest ATM network with 12,000 machines. In 2008, the bank announced it wanted to increase its ATM network by 4,000 machines to expand its geographic footprint across the continent, Hosangady says.
Diebold India has supplied ATMs to State Bank of India in the past. As a result of its earlier agreement with the institution, the company also managed 3,500 of the bank's ATMs. Diebold India expects to receive a management-services contract under the new agreement, Hosangady says.
Diebold India currently manages 10,000 ATMs owned by various banks throughout India, making it the country's managed-services leader, Hosangady says. Managed-services contracts, a strong source of revenue, run for two to three years. Banks also award manufacturers repair contracts, which usually run for six years, Hosangady says.
