ATMs in tier 2 and tier 3 cities across India are experiencing significant cash shortages, risking widespread shutdowns. The Confederation of ATM Industry (CATMi) has raised concerns with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), alleging that major banks, particularly the State Bank of India (SBI), are disproportionately directing cash to ATMs in tier 1 cities. This has left smaller towns struggling to maintain adequate cash supplies, particularly as SBI, which operates the largest ATM network in the country with around 65,000 machines, manages cash replenishment for about half of its network. CATMi has requested ₹100 crore in compensation from the banking sector, citing industry losses exceeding this amount due to offline ATMs resulting in lost transaction fees. Recent data indicates a decline in the number of ATMs in India, dropping to approximately 251,000 from over 253,000 the previous year, with the decrease mainly affecting rural and semi-urban locations. Furthermore, CATMi has informed the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) that ATM services could face disruptions due to insufficient cash for loading, with a reported cash requirement of ₹94,000 crore against available amounts of ₹61,000 crore in March and ₹54,000 crore in April.