Do ATMs still make sense?

Akshara· Host0:00

[upbeat music] In today's episode, we'll break down one important story. We'll talk about whether the ATMs in India are dead. Welcome back to The Daily Brief by Zerodha, where we cut through the noise to help you understand what's actually happening in the most important stories from business and markets. I'm your host Akshara, and today is Wednesday, 3rd June. When was the last time you took cash out of an ATM? The existence of UPI has at least minimized, if not outright removed, the use of ATMs for many people in Indian cities. But believe it or not, India is sitting on more physical cash today than it has at any point in its history. According to the RBI's currency in circulation data, the total value of banknotes in circulation in India was 41 lakh crore. That's actually more than double the level just before demonetization in November 2016, when banknotes in circulation stood at approximately rupees 18 lakh crore. The currency that denomination was supposed to remove has more than come back. Now, UPI didn't kill cash. It took over the small, fast, daily transactions, the local tea or coffee shop, the auto, the kirana shop, and so on. But large parts of the country still run on cash for reasons that have little to do with UPI's technical capabilities. In much of rural India, where the only bank branch is hours away, cash is just what works. Many of the people transacting in cash, like agricultural laborers, daily wage construction workers, and small traders in rural and semi-urban