Banking made easy with introduction of mobile hand-held ATMS

Kolkata, Jul 13 (UNI) People would no longer have to waste their precious time to walk to the ATMS, instead it would come at their doorsteps.

This is exactly what the next generation of ATM machines would offer a customer, specially in the remote rural areas to cover a large population.

Dena Bank is at the final stages of introducing such handheld mobile biometric ATMs in Gujarat.

''In rural areas people generaly have to travel long distances to access banks or ATMs. The mobile ATMs will make the system easy,'' Dena Bank CMD P Gairola said today.

Banking industry estimates reveal that about 75 per cent people in states like Arunachal, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Asom do not have access to banking and financial services. Andhra Pradesh is the only state where this rate is below 25 per cent. ''In a situation like this, reaching poorer sections of people is essential and the new service will help us move in that direction,'' he emphasised.

In Bihar , Nagaland , Sikkim and several other states at least 50 to 75 per cent people do not have access to financial services. This rate is 25 to 50 per cent in West Bengal, Kerala and MadhyaPradesh and many other states.

''We have already started biometric ATMs in Gandhinagar district of Gujrat. The next will be Banaskantha and Pattan districts, which are part of our Financial Inclusion(FI) project. However, the hand-held device will be first of its kind,'' he said while speaking at the sidelines of the Banking Conclave organsied by FICCI.

Financial Inclusion is a process through which people at the bottom of the pyramid receive financial services.

The hand-held ATM is not the only product to be launched. ''As part of the FI project, we are offering no frill accounts, general purpose credit card and have set up biometric credit cards,'' he said.

''We have started credit counselling centre in the villages to make people aware about the need and utilisation of credit flow, information about credit sources etc,'' he said.

UNI