Soon, draw cash from ATMs without a bank account

B L  February 13, 2014

“We have recently approved the in-principle setting up of a payment system which will facilitate the funds transfer from bank accountholders to those without accounts through ATMs. Essentially, the sender can have the money withdrawn from his account through an ATM transaction.

“The intermediary processes the payment, and sends a code to the recipient on his mobile that allows him to withdraw the money from any nearby bank’s ATM,” said Rajan.

The system will put in place necessary safeguards, including customer identification, transaction validation, and velocity checks. Currently, only bank accountholders can withdraw cash from an ATM.

According to the RBI chief, “Cashing out is very important for remittances because we have a large recipient population in the country most of whom do not have formal access to financial services. They do not have a bank account.”

“The point is that this system is efficient, fast and reaches people… We need more such innovative products, some of which mobile companies are providing,” Rajan added.

Payments Bank

The Governor also said the feasibility of a standalone payments bank, one of the banking structures envisaged by the Nachiket Mor committee, will be examined by the RBI. However, at this point, there is no decision (made) to move forward, he added.

ATM transactions: two banks penalised

SBI’s RPC Layout branch debited Rs.10,000 from a customer's account even though his attempt to withdraw the amount at an ATM had failed.


Krishnaprasad : The hindu : Bangalore : 20 Oct 2013

A consumer court in Bangalore city has penalised two banks — one private and another public sector — in two separate cases related to deficiency of service with regard to transactions through ATMs.

Direction to banks

The State Bank of India’s RPC Layout branch in Bangalore was directed to pay Rs. 10,000 with 12 per cent interest per annum to a customer for debiting Rs.10,000 from his account even though his attempt to withdraw the amount at an ATM had failed.

Similarly, ING Vysya Bank’s Indiranagar branch in the city was directed to pay Rs. 40,000 along with an interest of 12 per cent per annum to a customer as the bank failed to address his complaint about fraudulent withdrawal of Rs. 40,000 from his account through an ATM in Maharashtra even though his ATM-cum-debit card was in his possession in Bangalore.

Gangadhar, who had a savings account in SBI’s RPC Layout branch, in his complaint, said he tried to withdraw Rs.10,000 from a Canara Bank ATM at Kunigal on February 2, 2013. However, he could not do so as he got a slip stating “transaction declined, unable to process” from the ATM. Yet, to his horror, he found that Rs.10,000 had been deducted from his account.

On his complaint, the SBI took up the issue with Canara Bank through online complaint management system and the latter intimated that the transaction was successful contrary to the claim of the complainant.

Interestingly, the Third Additional Bangalore Urban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum came across confusing details from the two banks. In his complaint, K.V.C. Muralitharan, an account holder at ING Vysya Bank, stated that on the night of April 25 earlier this year, he got an SMS alert about withdrawal of Rs. 40,000 cash in four instalments of Rs.10,000 each from his account. 

He claimed that on a complaint made to bank’s call centre, it was told to him that cash was withdrawn from an ATM at Thane in Maharashtra on that day. He alleged that bank’s Indiranagar branch failed to redress his grievance.

Ex-parte order

As the bank even failed to respond to its notice, the Third Additional Bangalore Urban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum passed an ex-parte order.

ATMs that can detect fake notes are now here

Sachin Kumar, Hindustan Times
Mumbai, April 11, 2013


Automatic teller machines, or ATMs, that can tell fake from real are here. Manufacturers such as NCR Corporation and Diebold Systems are helping banks roll out new machines that not only deposit and dispense cash but can also detect counterfeit notes. State Bank of India, ICICI 


Bank and Axis Bank have already started installing these ATMs, also known as cash recycling machines. At present, these are being used as cash-deposit machines in which a customer can drop loose cash.

“Cash recycling machine is a full-function ATM which can detect counterfeit notes,” said Ashok Shankar, solutions deployment manager, NCR Corporation India. As of now, they were only accepting cash but later — when the banks and customers get accustomed to them — other features such as cash dispensing and utility bill payment would be switched on, he said.

NCR has already handed over 600 machines to SBI. ICICI Bank has the machines at its 26 electronic branches while Axis Bank has installed around 500 of these at various locations.

“Another feature of these machines is that the money is credited to depositors’ account instantly,” said Julius Samson, senior vice-president, Axis Bank.

Complaints of ATMs dispensing counterfeit notes are not uncommon. According to the Reserve Bank of India, close to 5.21 lakh fake notes were detected in India in 2011-12, much higher than 4.36 lakh in 2010-11.

“Cash recycling machines are already in use in developed countries... Their usage is bound to increase in India,” said Karthik Ganapathi, managing director (South Asia), Diebold Systems.

Portable ATMs gain popularity among banks

B S :Somasroy Chakraborty  |  Kolkata  February 20, 2013 Last Updated at 00:41 IST

Religious gatherings in the country appear to have offered banks an opportunity to increase transaction volumes in their automated teller machines (ATMs). Private sector banks have started introducing mobile ATMs that are migrating from one religious fair to another throughout the year.

HDFC Bank, the second largest private lender in the country, has sent its mobile ATM to the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad this year. It is estimated over 100 million people will attend this year's Maha Kumbh Mela, which began last month.

"This is the first time we have sent a mobile ATM to Kumbh. It was impossible to rent space and set up our ATM there. The transaction volumes have been phenomenal," said Birendra Sahu, senior executive vice-president for direct banking channels and premier banking at HDFC Bank.

Kerala-based Federal Bank stationed a couple of portable ATMs near Sabarimala temple during the last festival season when thousands of devotees visited the place. "Mobile ATMs have high utilisation rate. You can move the ATMs from these places when there is no festival and footfalls are low," said Shyam Srinivasan, managing director and chief executive of Federal Bank.

Typically, a mobile ATM is put on a van that moves from one location to another. When the money in the ATM gets exhausted, the nearest cash-in-transit agency of the bank deposits additional funds in the machine. 

However, a few banks are still reluctant to introduce portable ATMs because of its maintenance cost. Bankers estimate that the maintenance cost of mobile ATMs is at least 25-30 per cent more than that of traditional ATMs. "The bank has to incur expenses for the upkeep of the ATM as well as the van. It also has to ensure that there is adequate security," a senior executive with a large private bank said.

But many bankers believe the transaction volumes in portable ATMs mitigate the high maintenance cost in the long-run. "It’s a function of the volume. 

These ATMs attract very high footfalls. So, in the long-run if you consider the utilisation rate, such ATMs are not expensive at all," HDFC Bank's Sahu said.

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Now withdraw Rs one lakh at ATMs; shop for Rs 1.25 lakh a day

Source :ET :31 May 2010, 0351 hrs IST,PTI


NEW DELHI: Bank customers can soon withdraw up to Rs one lakh in a single day from ATM machines, and can shop for even an higher amount of Rs 1.25 lakh with their debit cards.

Also, as much as Rs three lakh can be transferred in a day to another account through ATMs as also over phone.

The enhanced limits for ATM withdrawals, debit card swiping and fund transfers would save the consumers from running to bank branches, that too within banking hours, for such large transactions. Currently, the maximum the customers of most of the banks can withdraw through ATMs is Rs 50,000 in a day.

While HDFC Bank is allowing these enhanced banking limits to its customers with effect from June 1, other banks might soon follow the suit.

The ATM withdrawal limit for HDFC Bank Imperia Gold Debit Cards now stands increased to Rs 1 lakh, and that for shopping to Rs 1.25 lakh, from Rs 50,000 per day.

Besides, the ATM card and shopping limit for Easy Shop Regular International/ Maestro/ NRO Debit Cards would stand increased to Rs 25,000 and Rs 40,000 respectively, from Rs 15,000 and 25,000 respectively.

The bank is currently in the process of informing its customers about these enhanced debit card limits. Given the competitive nature of the banking business, other banks would have to soon follow HDFC Bank in increasing their own card limits for ATM withdrawals, shopping and fund transfers, a senior official at a rival bank said.

Also the holders of Kid's Advantage Debit Cards can withdraw and shop for Rs 2,500 in a single day, higher from Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,000 currently.

Further, for Women debit Card holders will get to withdraw Rs 25,000 from ATMs from Rs 20,000. Also customers can shop for up to Rs 40,000 crore with debit cards, from the present Rs 30,000.

"The above revised limit are not applicable to the card holders whose current limit are different from the ones stated above and will continue to enjoy their requested/offered limits as sanctioned before," HDFC said.

Wrong ATM debits can be rewarding

Compensation for banks' delay in attending to complaints.

Complaintspertaining to ATMs top all others in banks (file picture).  

Source:BL,ChennaiG. Naga Sridhar,Hyderabad, April 6

Got a wrong debit in an ATM transaction? Don't sweat. It might actually turn into a reward, though delayed, for the trouble that you have been put through.
Many banks are acting slowly in rectifying the mistakes in ATM transactions. This despite an April 2009 directive from the Reserve Bank of India that a compensation of Rs 100 a day should be paid from the 12th day after the wrong transaction till the date it is corrected.
Advantage for many
As a result, notwithstanding a temporary inconvenience to a customer, a wrong debit could finally end up as an advantage for many.
“We recently awarded a compensation of Rs 20,000 for a wrong debit of Rs 8,000. There are other similar cases as well,'' Mr M. Sebastian, Banking Ombudsman in Hyderabad, told Business Line here. There was a ‘concentration' of complaints pertaining to ATMs, he observed.
The complaints pertaining to ATMs top all other complaints in banks. “A majority of complaints we receive are on ATM transactions,'' Mr Shiv Kumar, Chief General Manager, State Bank of India, said. He added that special efforts were being taken to dispose them off.
While banks are tight-lipped about actual number of complaints, officials say that enclosures are created to tackle ATM complaints and there is also long pendency.
“When I complained to Andhra Bank on an ATM wrong-debit, I have been told to wait as complaints have been pending for the last two years,'' said Mr R Gopal, a customer of Andhra Bank.
Mr R.S. Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director Andhra Bank, however, said there was no such long pendency.
“As people are using other banks' ATMs, there are procedures to follow in establishing the authenticity of a complaint. As multiple agencies are involved, it takes time,'' he said.
Mr Asit Pal, Executive Director of Corporation Bank, and Ms Renu Challu, Managing Director, State Bank of India, also share a similar view.
‘poor awareness'
There are also allegations that banks are not prompt in payment of compensation according to RBI norms unless it is asked for as there is still ‘poor awareness' among the general public on the norm.
“Given the circumstances, it is not fair to ask us for compensation which will run into huge amount. The RBI should not have kept 12-day limit,'' said a top official of a public sector bank.

ATMs will let you get cheques cleared, pay bills

Source:26 Mar 2010, 0446 hrs IST, Shelley Singh, ET Bureau



NEW DELHI: Since their launch over two decades ago in India, automated teller machines, or ATMs, have changed little. Their limited services comprise dispensing cash, printing mini statements and accepting requests for cheque books. But, many banks are now working to make the dumb ATMs smarter and banking simpler. The smart terminals, they expect, will combine the convenience of ATMs with the versatility of bank branches.
In their improved avatar, the machines will allow customers to pay taxes and bills, buy or sell products such as mutual funds, book air tickets and swiftly get cheques cleared, bankers say.

“Next-generation ATMs will be a blend of internet kiosks and cash points. They will get closer to being a self-service branch,” says Sanjay Sharma, MD & CEO, IDBI Intech, the technology arm of IDBI Bank. Among the solutions being devised at IDBI Intech’s ATM test lab in Navi Mumbai are those that will allow bill payments and quick clearance of checks.

Haragopal M, global head of Finacle, the banking solution from Infosys Technologies, believes tomorrow’s ATMs will be more interactive, with voice, data and video capabilities. “The machines will be able to suggest solutions and have an interactive dialogue with users. These could also tweet product ideas and post financial advice on your social networking site,” he says.

Around villages near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, HDFC Bank is piloting a ‘bank on wheels’, taking the ATM to people. PNB is doing trials on a micro-deposit module to help people access banking services with amounts as low as Rs 10. And Yes Bank is starting pilots on video phone banking starting April.

The upgrade of the machines that have mainly spewed cash till now comes at a time when their numbers are increasing. From about 20,000 two years ago, the number of ATMs increased to 45,000 in 2009 and is poised to cross 100,000 by 2013, according to RBR, a London-based retail banking research group.

   

ATM makers are more optimistic. Manjunath Rao, country manager, at NCR India thinks that with their cost-effectiveness and new applications, the
six figure mark could be reached before that. “More people are using ATMs today and the number of transactions has risen 25-30% in the last year. Adding more applications adds more value,” he says.

While the number of transactions has increased, much of the value addition and information that users get at ATMs are not focussed to specific customer needs. That’s where banks like Yes Bank see an opportunity.
“Video phone banking at ATMs is going to be the most disruptive change around ATMs. Customers will get product advice or problem resolution using video phones,” its CIO Umesh Jain says.

ATMs will also play a larger role in sales, using real-time business intelligence for more focussed selling, he adds. “While some ATMs have sales information, it is similar information displayed for all customers — more like carpet-bombing instead of focused shooting.”

Banks are drawing inspiration from retailers like Amazon which frequently suggest ‘buyers of this book also bought...’ In future, customers could walk into an ATM to buy a particular mutual fund and instantly get references to similar funds with their net asset values and take decisions.

Shalini Mehta, EVP, Kotak Mahindra Bank, says the ATM is changing into a more evolved channel to fulfil customer needs. Some of the new offerings will include mobile recharge, bill payments, booking tickets, printing statements, updating pass books as well as transfer of funds within and outside the bank.

HDFC Bank has launched a new initiative to make ATMs more intelligent and help faster cash withdrawals. Customers have the option of setting a preferred withdrawal amount as a favourite transaction. It is 40% faster than normal cash withdrawals and since the bank launched it about 60% of HDFC Bank users have opted for it, says Harish Shetty, EVP, Information Technology.
   
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