SBI to outsource new ATM operations in AP

State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to open 500 new ATMs in Andhra Pradesh during the next financial year. Of this, operations of about 146 ATMs would be outsourced, said Shiva Kumar, its deputy managing director.

Speaking to the media here, he said setting up and operating an ATM was expensive and complicated and, therefore, the bank had decided to outsource them.

The bank will pay the charges to the ATM operator depending on the transactions. Any person can set up the ATM with his own cost, with the approval from the bank. SBI currently has 1,600 ATMs in the state and is planning to introduce biometric and solar powered-ATMs here soon.

The bank also plans to open 100 new branches during the next fiscal of which 15-20 will be specialised ones like SME, commercial, agri-business and women branches called ‘Vasumdhara’. “Currently we have only one branch for women at Lucknow and would open one in AP shortly,” he said.

The AP government has allotted 1,381 villages to SBI as part of its financial inclusion drive.

“The government has set December 31, 2012, as the target but we are taking steps to achieve this goal by September 2011. Accordingly, the bank is setting up financial inclusion centres in respective places and recently introduced the ‘bank on bike’ facility,” he stated.

On Saturday, Shiva Kumar opened an SME branch at Balayya Sastry Layout here.