Demonetisation- What is a Micro ATM

Micro ATMs are designed for rural or remote location banking. Ideally a geographical location where full-fledged ATMs or banks can't be set up or aren't functional.

Government is now looking at Micro ATMs to ease rush at ATMs and banks across the country. After an early Monday meeting with the Prime Minister on demonetisation and its impact on the country so far, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das spoke of fresh measures being taken up to ease the rush for transactions. One of the key points of his statement was Micro ATMs being set up to dispense cash against Credit and Debit cards.

Micro ATMs are designed for rural or remote location banking. Ideally a geographical location where full-fledged ATMs or banks can't be set up or aren't functional. Micro ATMs are modified point of sales terminals, swipe machines in layman terms. Their function however is way more than mere swipe machines we see in stores.

Each of these machines are GPRS enabled and some have a fingerprint scanner attached. When a customer can't come to the bank, the bank comes to them in the form of Micro ATMs. A customer's ID, in most cases the Aadhar card, is linked to the bank account that is in turn linked to the debit card.

Micro ATMs are handheld devices. All that a customer has to do is use their debit card as they would in an ATM. The moment the card is swiped the micro ATM connects it to the core banking system and debits or credits cash from their account. The money however is either collected or released by the bank's representative carrying the micro ATM. The representative from the bank acts as the cash cache. The Micro ATM much like our regular swipe machine will also print a bill after every transaction.

Micro ATMs are a mobile, viable and cost effect way of electronic banking in remote villages but the same is now being looked at as an option to ease rush at Banks and ATMs by the union government.

OneIndia News