PocketATM, a Mumbai-based Fintech has raised $400,000 in its pre-seed funding round. The investment was led by Indian Express Commercial Ventures, Samir Modi of Modicare, Himanshu Nautiyal from Fractal Analytics, Nirav Mehta of Morgan Stanley Private Equity, Hemant Adarkar of Artha Center, Venkatesh Hariharan, a Public Policy Advisor, and Rajat Agarwal, Partner at Vertices Partners.  

PocketATM functions by utilising the idle cash liquidity at Kirana stores, enabling customers to withdraw cash using a QR code, and eliminating the need for cards or traditional ATMs. The platform promises 100 percent transaction fulfillment at almost zero charges, providing maximum convenience to users.

Mihir Mehta, co-founder and CEO of PocketATM, highlighted the platform's commitment to convenience and reliability, utilizing the UPI protocol for a range of services while enhancing the overall customer experience. He said, “At PocketATM, we aim to decentralise the flow of cash by empowering Kirana stores to utilise surplus cash reserves, offering it to users for withdrawals.”  

“We are developing a platform committed to convenience and reliability, serving as a unified application within the hybrid payments landscape,” he added.   

Sushil Kurri, co-founder and CTO of PocketATM emphasized the extensive development involved in creating the platform, addressing over 200 scenarios related to cash withdrawals through Kirana stores. “Our goal is to evolve PocketATM into a comprehensive platform capable of providing services such as cash delivery, pickups, and cheque collections in a seamless and trustworthy environment.” 

The platform is already operational in the Mumbai and Navi Mumbai regions, gradually expanding its footprint.  

India reports 550 million+ cash withdrawal transactions on a monthly basis across 2.3 lakh ATMs in the country. 

AePS, a payment service operated by NPCI, is used by millions of individuals in India to perform transactions like cash withdrawals and deposits, and approximately 110 million transactions have been processed on the platform with multiple participating banks.