The Ministry of Industry and Trade entered the first Russian ATM SAGA S-200 ATM with the cash recycling function into the register of domestic equipment. This was reported by Interfax with reference to the department.
The device was developed by the Moscow corporation SAGA together with the Avtomatika concern, which is part of Rostec. The ATM is made mainly from domestic components and operates on Russian software. At the same time, imported parts are supplied by "friendly states," as Andrey Zholobov, director general of the corporation, said .
In addition, the terminal has a cash recycling function, which means that it is possible to accept banknotes from one client and issue the same banknotes to another without processing at the bank. This will lead to a significant reduction in collection costs and optimization of operating costs.
Zholobov also added that the introduction of devices running on Russian software will solve the problem with recognizing new banknotes, which has become impossible for ATMs of foreign manufacturers that have stopped servicing in Russia.
The inclusion of an ATM in the register of domestic equipment was necessary for its participation in public procurement. Domestic goods receive priority over foreign counterparts. According to Vladislav Ovchinsky, head of the Department of Investment and Industrial Policy of Moscow, the production of domestic ATMs will reduce dependence on foreign suppliers.
It is expected that SAGA will be able to produce 25,000 ATMs per year. As Alexei Voylukov, Vice President of the Association of Banks of Russia, said earlier, the Russian market needs about 20,000 devices a year. According to a government decree, in 2022 the share of Russian ATMs for credit institutions with state participation should be at least 20%.
Work on the SAGA S-200 ATM was carried out for seven years. It was first presented at the Army-2021 forum in August 2021. Sales are scheduled to launch in October 2022. According to Interfax, strategic cooperation agreements and pre-sale deals have already been concluded with seven banks.
The leaders of the world and Russian ATM markets before the war with Ukraine were American Diebold Nixdorf and NCR, they accounted for up to 70% of devices inside Russia. According to the Central Bank, about 187.5 thousand ATMs operate in the country. After the departure of American companies, it became much more difficult to maintain the operation of devices: the software (software) is not updated, and maintenance has to be carried out using parallel imports. In particular, Russian banks are faced with the inability to use the new hundred-ruble bills to replenish cards at ATMs.
