MUMBAI, India - Punjab National Bank of India and Everest Bank Ltd. of Nepal have agreed to share their ATM networks on either side of the border.
PNB is one of the largest nationalized banks in India, with more than 870 ATMs and 2.5 million international debit-cardholders.
According to a news release, Chennai, India-based Financial Software and Systems Ltd., provider of electronic payment systems and services, facilitated the cross-country ATM sharing solution through FSSNeT, the company's outsourcing division.
FSS says the deal between PNB and Everest Bank marks the first time an Indian bank could use a domestic network for transaction sharing with a foreign bank.
"For the first time in the history of payment systems in India, two banks across two countries are connecting to each other through domestic networks, bypassing the need to go through international interchanges, resulting in lower cost of services for both banks and their customers," said Nagaraj Mylandla, FSS's managing director. "FSSNeT would enable interchange connectivity and ATM-sharing services between PNB and Everest Bank Ltd. Nepal. We believe this would pave the way forward for enabling transaction-sharing services amongst neighboring countries, including Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Middle East countries."
In Nepal, Everest Bank has outsourced its ATM-transaction processing to Smart Choice Technology. FSSNeT has tied to SCT and established a data-communication network that connects the two networks - allowing cardholders from both banks to use either bank's ATMs.
PNB is the settlement bank to which FSS provides settlement reports, with appropriate currency conversion. With FSSNet tying to SCT, PNB has opportunities to link with other Nepali banks in SCT's network for ATM sharing.
"Our bank's tie up with Everest Bank Ltd. for ATM sharing is an important milestone in our retail banking initiatives," said K.S. Bajwa, PNB's general manager. "This being our first bilateral cross-border ATM-sharing arrangement, we look forward to tying up with various leading banks in our neighboring countries."
