Mumbai, Feb. 4: Muthoot Finance, which provides loans against gold, today set up its first white label ATM (WLA) unit in the country.

The company is planning to invest Rs 300 crore over the next three years to set up around 9,000 such ATMs.

In June 2012, the Reserve Bank of India had issued policy guidelines permitting non-banking entities to set up and operate white label ATM after seeking authorisation under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

Tata Communications Payment Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Communications, launched the country’s first-ever network of white label ATMs called Indicash.

While the company continues to roll out more such ATMs in many towns, bank-ing circles feel that some of the other players who have received the central bank’s permission to set up such ATMs remain cautious.

Recently, Prizm Payment Services rolled out its white label ATM network.

“We aim to set-up 9,000 WLAs in a 3-year period; 1,000 in the first year, 2,000 in the second year and additional 6,000 in the third year,” M.G. George Muthoot, finance chairman of Muthoot, said today.

Muthoot plans to set up 100 ATMs in the next three months — 50 in South India and 50 in the other parts of the country.