 "Gujarat state co-op banks up the ante for 'doorstep' facilities")
For instance, the Ahmedabad District Cooperative (ADC) bank has started micro ATM services in rural areas. Similarly, Rajkot Nagarik Sahakari Bank Limited (RNSBL) is also going to launch such a service for rural areas across Gujarat even as other cooperative banks too plan to commence the same.
The micro ATMs work in such a way that an agriculture cooperative society or cooperative bank representative carries a small device to rural areas where banking and ATM facilities are currently not available or have limited facilities. The micro ATM device then provides basic banking services such as cash withdrawal, deposit, balance inquiry, and fund transfer, apart from opening up new accounts.
According to cooperative bank officials, the cooperative banks in Gujarat have been lately taking lead in technology adoption. This time, the motive of initiating micro ATM services is to provide basic banking services at the doorstep to villagers who are currently out of banking fold and banks are yet to reach them.
"After creating a technology umbrella for the co-operative banks in the state through core banking facilities, the Gujarat cooperative banks are upping the ante in terms of technology adoption. With 'Bank at Your Door' concept, a representative of the cooperative banks or agriculture society will reach to end users to provide basic banking services," said Jyotindra Mehta, president of National Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks and Credit Societies (NAFCUB) and chairman of Gujarat Urban Cooperative Banks Federation (GUCBF).
While small villages will get banking facilities at their doorstep, banks will in turn reap benefits through opening of new accounts remotely.
According to Vinod Shah, general manager of Gujarat State Co-operative Bank (GSC Bank), the cash transactions hence carried through the cooperative representative will be limited. "The new concept will also create new jobs at the village areas. Moreover, because of it, awareness for banking will increase in villages where financially literacy is a challenge," Shah added.
As micro ATM will directly connect with banks through Internet, all the transactions will be conducted online which will also reduce possibility of any forgery.
"As all the transaction will be online and hence, chances of anything wrong is very nominal. Moreover, bank representatives will be mostly familiar with the villagers. This also reduces the possibility of any forgery," Shah added.
RNSBL is in currently in the process of appointing representatives in Saurashtra region and the service will start soon. Similarly, ADC bank has distributed about 15 micro ATMs in past one month, even as it target to distribute 50 more instruments by end of December this year.
