Being A Franchisee – A Gateway to your Entrepreneurial Aspirations

Self- Reliance is the buzz word today. With the government driving the AatmaNirbhar Bharat Movement, there is a visible surge in the entrepreneurial instinct amongst Indians. If you are one of those looking for being self employed by tapping opportunities that are far more rewarding and empowering, being a Franchisee could be your gateway to start your entrepreneurship journey.

As per industry estimates almost 35% of all franchise buyers are first timers in business.According to a recent KPMG and Franchise Association of India (FAI) report, franchising in India has witnessed a four-fold growth since 2013 and is estimated at USD 50.4 billion currently.The job creation is estimated to be to the tune of 1.5 million in the franchise industry in India. Almost 1,000+ new retail brands adopt franchising every year.

The data clearly reinforces that franchising has a huge potential in India and is on a growth trajectory. Being a Franchisee gives you a good head-start and extends suite of benefits vis-à-vis starting your own business. The Franchisee opportunities are mushrooming across industries be it Retail, Financial Services, Automobile, Education, Quick Service Restaurants and likes. However, one such promising franchisee opportunity that is catching up across the country is being an ATM franchisee especially for established or aspirant entrepreneurs seeking to start their journey with minimal capital and yet earning healthy returns.

ATM Franchisee – The Next Big Franchisee Opportunity

What is ATM Franchisee?

ATM Franchisee is a franchisee business model where entrepreneurs can earn by operating and managing White Label ATM/s i.e non-bank ATMs. Essentially it is a high margin, asset lite cum minimal investment business, whereby you can earn with every cash and non-cash transactions undertaken at a WLA ATM who manage as a Franchise Partner.

Before we get into the specifics on why ATM franchisee is a promising business opportunity let us look at the ATM industry insights.

High Demand for ATM Services – Cash continues to be the king!

Traditionally, India has been an underpenetrated ATM market as compared to comparable economies like China, Brazil, USA etc. It has a significantly low ATM penetration with only 22 ATMs per lac population across the country. Recognising this, the Reserve Bank of India, in 2012 had licensed private White Label ATM service providers (WLA’s) to deploy ATMs pan India with the mandate of increasing ATM penetration in an underpenetrated semi urban and rural geographies. Since then, players like Tata Communication Payment Solutions Limited (TCPSL) that owns and manages the Indicash White Label ATM network, Hitachi Payments, BTI Payments and others have deployed White Label ATMs in the country in hitherto untapped ATM markets and have accelerated ATM accessibility in the country.

As per RBI’s last report, the total number of ATMs in India stands at 234,244 as of September 2020, which is marginally down 2,34,357 in March 2020. Inspite of the uptake in digital payments triggered by demonetisation and now the Pandemic, India continues to witness a high demand for cash and ATM services, specifically in populated catchments in cities, semi urban and rural geographies where there is a natural preference for Cash.

This establishes that there is a huge demand for cash and ATM infrastructure in India, given that India continues to be a cash driven economy.

Why ATM franchise is a win- win proposition? 

As an aspiring or experienced entrepreneur, you would look at business opportunities where your investments would generate attractive earnings with minimal capital. This is where the ATM franchise business stands out from the rest as it offers multiple benefits:

• Gives a quick head-start with Minimal Capital & Investments: You can start your business with a minimal investments ranging between ₹3 to ₹5 lacs. All you need is to identify a high potential commercial space of 60-80 sq.ft in a high footfall location and make a minimal investment in terms of Security Deposit and capital to run daily ATM operations
• Earnings with every Transaction: You earn with every transaction undertaken at an ATM basis the revenue sharing arrangement with the White Label ATM service provider ranging between ₹5 to ₹8 per cash transaction. Your earnings are dependent on the number of transactions at the ATM. The more you channelise your efforts to ensure that the ATM operations are well managed on a daily basis and more customers are able to transact/ withdrawal money, the more you can earn.
• Healthy Return of Investment of upto 33% ROI in year 1: You can earn a healthy return on investment up to 33% in the first year itself which can be scaled upto 50% plus.
• Benefit from 100% support and business know how to run your business successfully:Partnering Organisations imparts necessary skills and trainings to run your business successfully. As an ATM Franchise owner, you are trained to undertake responsibilities of ATM maintenance and run day to day operations, cash loadings while branding support is extended for launch and promotions.
• Opportunity to Partner with a Trusted brand: You get an opportunity to be associated with a reputed brand and leverage its processes and brand value to run your business.

Simply put, the industry indicators like the continuous demand for Cash as the primary mode of transactions and the huge demand for ATM services, backed by the promising value proposition of the ATM franchisee makes it a win- win business opportunity.

If you have the financial capability to make a minimal investment of upto ₹5 lacs, the willingness to learn, own and create an impact by empowering masses with ‘Cash’, undisputedly the most essential commodity in our day to day lives, look no further, ride on to the ATM franchisee opportunity and start your entrepreneurial journey to be ATMA NIRBHAR.

To know more, visit www.indicash.co.in

*Data Source: Industry Reports and RBI website.