Vortex Engineering announced on Thursday India’s first large-scale rollout of solar ATMs (automated teller machines). The announcement follows the company’s order win from State Bank of India to deploy 545 ATMs, out of which 300 will be solar-powered.

“The ATMs are best suited for rural and semi-urban areas. The order book size of the SBI win is Rs 18 crore. We are also talking to three of the top 20 banks in the country and some micro finance companies,” said Vijay Babu, chief executive officer of Vortex.

The company developed the Gramateller Duo ATMs in collaboration with IIT-Madras. “The machines require less than 100W and do not require air conditioning thus consuming less than 72 units of power a month,” he added.

This translates to a saving of 1,728 units a month and at least Rs 1.2 lakh a year (at the rate of Rs 6 per unit). The ATMs also have the option of biometric authentication using fingerprint recognition. These machines have been piloted under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the Cuddalore district of TN, Babu said.

ATM penetration in India is about 0.04 per 1,000 people. The average number of transactions per day per machine in urban areas is 300 with an average value of Rs 10,000. Frequent power cuts and high cost involved in dispensing cash are the two major challenges faced while setting up ATMs in rural areas. The Gramateller machines solve both the problems; they consume lesser power, and the ATMs are designed to dispense soiled notes also, Babu said.

The company projects an immediate demand for at least one-lakh machines. While conventional ATMs cost between Rs five lakh and Rs six lakh, Vortex’s machines come at about 50 per cent lesser amount.