Foreseeing the escalating demand and need for ubiquitous ATMs in the country, The Indian Bank Association has promoted SWADHAN in the year 1997 for its member banks to share their ATMs with other participating banks. The drive is to reduce the huge investment that is being made by the banks to deploy ATMs in different locations

ATM (Automated Teller Machine) is the foremost among the electronic payment gateways available in the banking segment. It made its presence in India in the year 1988. It is a computerized device that enables bank customers to withdraw cash outside banking hours. ATMs also accept cash and cheques, provide statements, effect transfers. Operated by cash cards and a personal identification number (PIN), they are placed on outside walls of banks. Off late, the deployment locations of ATMs include hospitals, showrooms, shopping malls, and airport.

"Feeling short on cash, don't worry. Just walk over to the nearest automated teller machine (ATM), insert your card into the card reader, respond to the prompts on the screen, and within a minute you walk away with your money and a receipt. The story of the humble cash-dispensing machine started around three decades back. In India, HSBC set the trend and set up the first ATM machine here in 1987. Since then, they have become a common sight in many of our metros. With more than 800,000 machines worldwide, ATMs have made hard cash just seconds away all throughout the day at every corner of the globe. ATMs allow you to do a number of banking functions -- such as withdrawing cash from one's account, making balance inquiries and transferring money from one account to another -- using a plastic, magnetic-strip card and personal identification number issued by the financial institution."
[ source - http://www.indiainfoline.com/lyas/pefi/bank/atma.shtml]

SWADHAN, India's FIRST Shared Payment Network Service is unsurpassed in offering countrywide access to the banking operations at more than 1000 ATMs in and around 64 cities. It has 55 member banks in the network, which includes nationalized, private and foreign banks. SWADHAN provides convenient banking, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week through the Automated Teller Machines to the participating bank's customers across the country. With SWADHAN, the bank customers are never far away from an ATM.

The member bank's customer can withdraw money anytime from any of the ATM irrespective of the bank with which the customer has an account. It offers services beyond cash withdrawals, like utility bill payment, fund transfer and deposits. SWADHAN widens the scope of ATM usage in the country in a cost effective manner. A member bank of SWADHAN can increase its geographical presence without deploying ATMs in all the locations; instead it can share and use ATMs of other banks, thereby saving a substantial amount. Likewise, the customer of the bank is highly benefited by having a nation-wide access to the card, without holding multiple accounts in different banks.

The average transaction per day in the SWADHAN network is around 2500. The largest and only Shared Payment Network System (SPNS) in India, SWADHAN is posting a very impressive growth rate since its inception. In 1997, at the start of the network, the number of ATMs in SWADHAN Network was only around 24, whereas today it is grown close to 1000 ATMs. Today, in the country, 25% of the ATMs are networked to SWADHAN. Everyday brings new ATMs and banks to the network.

Being the leading light in Shared Payment Network System for debit cards in India, it has auspicious plans to provide connectivity to the international payment networks, such as master card and visa in a very formidable way. It is poised to enable the existing system for e-payments thereby helping the banks excel in an e-powered service.

With Swadhan it was hoped that Indian banks' customers would be able to benefit from an ATM pool that solved the problems of single-ATM outlet banks and its attendant problems of limited access, distance and time.

1. No exchange fee charged to change an old ATM card for a Swadhan card.

2. Rs3,000 fixed as the ceiling on withdrawal.

3. Exception made for select customers who can withdraw up to Rs.10,000. Still, this is lower than the average withdrawal of Rs.15,000 by regular ATMs.

4. IBA gives banks the discretion to decide a higher maximum amount for withdrawal.

5. Transactions conducted through any of the member banks appear on a bank statement, which is given only by your own bank.

6. All transactions conducted in any of the member banks appear on the bank statement, but only your own bank will provide this

However, no overdraft facility is available on Swadhan cards.

Let's take a look at how the system works. A switch routes all information and transactions among member institutions. It transmits the information and/or data to the card-issuing bank or its processor, which approves or declines the transaction request and notifies the switch. The card-issuing bank's decision is then routed by the switch to the processor of the ATM, which completes the transaction. At the end of each day, accounts among members are settled and account balances are transmitted to each member institution.