Any bank that provides core banking services with 24x7 transaction banking capabilities with or without ATMs may join the National Financial Switch through a sponsor bank. This allows non-scheduled Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) to gain access to the national network of over 103,000 ATMs in the country. Before 14 August 2011, access was limited to scheduled banks with RTGS membership. The sponsorship scheme was started to increase the connectivity of ATMs across the country, and to enable customers to use ATMs across India.