The Reserve Bank of India is to use technology from Euronet Worldwide to implement a national financial switch (NFS) in the country.
Euronet will provide the two-part turnkey system for the NFS which will create a neutral platform that enables banks to connect their own switches to the network.
The NFS will contain both an integrated inter-ATM switch and an Internet and e-commerce payment gateway, which will authenticate and route payment details between banks and other parties.
Daniel Henry, Euronet Worldwide president and COO, says: "The NFS multilateral network will ensure the widest acceptance of cards in the market and open up a range of electronic services for banks. The NFS will become a common denominator in the market to a number of banks."
Euronet currently operates a shared Indian ATM network, called Cashnet, that includes nine member banks.
The vendor says the number of ATMs in India has been growing at over 50% for the last three years and estimates there are currently over 15,000 units across the country.