Mumbai-based EPS raises Rs 40 crore from Aavishkar

Mumbai-based Electronic Payments and Services (EPS) has raised $6 million (about Rs 40 crore) in second round of funding from impact investment fund Aavishkaar.

Last year the investment firm had pumped in about $4 million (about Rs 27 crore) in the payments services company.

EPS, set up in 2011, offers services including end-to-end ATM management and transaction processing to banks. The company plans to deploy 5,000 ATMs in the State of Maharashtra by end of the current fiscal.

Last year the Reserve Bank of India, in a bid to enhance financial inclusion, had decided to permit non-banks to set up, own and operate ATMs to accelerate the growth and penetration of ATMs in the country.

This change in rules will see the installation of over 180,000 ATMs in the next few years, according to the company’s estimates, especially in rural regions.

The firm plans to use the funds to provide other services like utility bill payments, mobile payments for urban and cooperative banks and shared infrastructure services, issuance of cards, transaction processing services for regional rural banks.

Aavishkaar, which has raised four funds so far, is a decade old investment firm that invests in early-stage ventures focused on rural and semi-urban consumers. Its previous investments include Rangsutra, Vaatsalya and Milk Mantra.