TIRUPATI: In a major step in taking hi-tech banking to the rural masses, the banking sector as a whole is trying its hands at introducing a villager-friendly Automated Teller Machine (ATM).

Andhra Bank, which pioneered the concept of `banking on wheels' by making its officials visit a cluster of villages along with ledger books, is now planning to take ATMs to villages.

While the `mobile ATMs' introduced in the suburbs of Hyderabad is targeted at the semi-urban semi-literate, this one is meant mainly for the illiterates.

Nascent stage

The technology, currently in a nascent stage, is not only expected to take banking to the rural areas, but also make inroads into the impregnable bastion of local moneylenders, which is considered a root cause for farmers getting caught in the debt trap.

The biometric-based ATM gets activated when the account holder leaves his thumb impression on the touch screen.

This not only ensures security of account information, but also avoids the usage of words, mostly involving technical jargon in English, that, for a rustic customer, is gibberish.

Another interesting feature being considered is the Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) support, where customer queries will be answered through a pre-recorded voice in Telugu.

No PIN troubles

"The concept is being designed keeping in mind the rural illiterates who tend to forget the PIN number and the transaction process. It is going to be a truly hassle-free process," explains R. Athmaram, Deputy General Manager of Andhra Bank.

Going by the success of our mobile ATM concept, several ATM manufacturing companies are vying to book orders for ATM-fitted mini vans, he said and added that it would help the bank make it big in the countryside.

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