STRATEGIC PARTNERS
January 1, 2002
KOLKATA, India -- According to the report in The Hindu newspaper, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and UTI Bank have "shown interest" in adding their ATMs to a single network to be shared by State Bank of India. All four financial institutions use Base24 switches.
SBI, which owns 100 networked ATMs and has plans to expand its network to 1,000 by the end of this year, has not yet agreed to the proposal. SBI has promised to network 2,000 of its branches before 2003. It took a step in that direction by networking 260 branches and 100 ATMs spread over seven cities on June 20. The bank had already issued one million ATM cards to its customers.
SBI is also launching a pilot project to provide suburban railway tickets through its ATMs in Mumbai and Kolkata, according to the Hindu. Vallabh said that the bank will earn a commission of 5 rupees on suburban tickets and 15-25 rupees on long distance tickets.
SBI will access the railway database through an intermediary server connected to ATMs through a Base24 switch. Both the switch and the intermediary server will be supplied by the Chennai-based Financial Software and Systems (P) Ltd.
According to sources, the bank is also in talks with public sector insurance majors for effecting payment of insurance premiums through ATMs, the Hindu reported.
