News

Indians may start seeing new features on their ATMs

August 6, 2012

India's bankcard-holding citizens may soon be seeing new features on their ATMs.

The changes are an indirect result of the recent issuance by the nation's public sector banks of contracts to add 62,000 new ATM locations across India, said an article by The Hindu Business Line.

"We are evaluating the possibility of incorporating special features over and above the regular features in ATMs installed in destinations," Sudip Kumar, president of Tata Communications Banking InfraSolutions said in the story. "This, of course, will happen only after consultation with the banks."

TCBIL will install and maintain 14,000 ATMs under the terms of its contract. The company is one of nine vendors that landed contracts in the public sector bank project. Other major providers include NCR Corp. and MphasiS, an HP company.

Features on the machines will be tailored to the needs of the location, said Kumar. For instance, new ATMs in tourist centers might feature currency conversion capabilities to meet travellers' needs. "Value-added features like airline ticketing, mobile top-ups and talking ATMs can also be installed in the ATMs if banks permit," Kumar said in the Business Line article.

NCR said that it would deploy solar-powered ATMs in some rural areas included in its 7,400-unit contract. "Nearly 15-20 percent of the total deployment will be in this category," Navroze Dastur, NCR senior general manager for South Asia channel partners and strategic alliance said in the Business Line artlcle.

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