Bengaluru: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has recommended Government of India to ask banks to cap monthly rental of Point of Sale (PoS) machines at Rs 100 per month to encourage more merchants to install PoS machines.
“Installing a PoS machine for a merchant or an enterprise is a costly affair. Banks charge approximately Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 for installation charges and monthly rental which goes up to Rs 800 and above. All these costs make merchants resultant to install PoS at their business site,’’ D S Rawat, Secretary General, Assocham, told reporters here on Thursday.
Releasing a study report on Indian PoS Market, prepared by Assocham and RNCOS Business Consultancy Services, Rawat said the Assocham has also demanded the Union Government to abolish the transaction charge collected by private banks from debit card holders for using PoS machines to may payments. “All the private banks have been collecting 2 per cent of the transaction value as service charge. It will become difficult for debit card-holders if public sector banks start collecting transaction fee for making payments through PoS machines,’’ Rawat said.
The report on Indian PoS Market forecasts the growth of PoS machines at 76 lakh by 2022.
“The number of PoS machines installed in the country is likely to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 30 per cent to reach 76 lakh in the next five years from 16 lakh in 2016,’’ the Assocham-RNCOS study said.
The study said with over 74 crore debit and credit cards in India, there is a huge potential for growth of PoS machines.
“The value of transactions through the PoS machines can reach Rs 7.5 lakh crore by 2022 from Rs 63,500 crore in 2016,’’ the study report said.
The study report also highlighted the total transaction volume of PoS in Indian was Rs 30 crore in 2016 and it is likely to grow at a CAGR of 48 per cent to reach Rs 310 crore by the end of 2022.
“Increased penetration of debit and credit cards, growing e-commerce sector, increasing disposable incomes together with government’s massive thrust on promoting cashless economy provide an opportunity for growth of PoS machines in India,’’ the report said.
