The Hindu Business Line : Get mini-statements, change PIN at ATMs

Foundation Day: (From right) Mr J. M. Garg, Executive Director, PNB; Mr S. K. Goel, CMD, UCO Bank; and Mr Allen C. A. Pereira, Executive Director, OBC, at a function in the Capital on Monday. –

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Oct 8 The ATM cardholders of the six banks forming part of the MITR (ATM sharing arrangement) network can now benefit from new value-added services introduced today. Such customers, numbering about 80 lakh, can now obtain ‘mini statements’ of their accounts in any of the ATMs of the members banks of ‘MITR’. The MITR network came into existence on October 8, 2003.

The customers with debit card/ATM cards would also be able to change their ‘Personal Identification Number’ (PIN) in any of the ATMs under the network. Currently, the MITR network has 3154 networked ATMs.

The six banks forming part of the MITR network are Punjab National Bank (PNB), Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), Indian Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, IndusInd Bank and UCO Bank.

“With growing volumes and increase in the number of customers using debit cards, we expect the average service fee for cash withdrawal transaction to further drop in the coming days”, Mr K.S. Bajwa, Chairman of MITR, told Business Line on the sidelines of an event organised to celebrate the fifth foundation day of MITR.

The cash withdrawal fee was pegged at Rs 15.5 per withdrawal in 2006-07, lower than the level of Rs 18 levied earlier. All the four PSU banks that formed part of the ‘MITR’ are keen to widen the coverage of ATM/debit cardholders.

The PNB’s Executive Director, Mr J.M. Garg, said that the bank was adding 50,000 ATM cards every week. “We want to increase it to 1 lakh cards every week”, he said. Mr Garg also said that the ‘MITR’ should adopt `six sigma’ approach so that a customer’s confidence on the functioning of the network is enhanced.

Mr Bajwa expressed confidence that more banks would join the MITR network in the coming months. Plans are also afoot to look at banks abroad for tie-ups. MITR is also looking at providing call centre facilities with a toll free number to all ATM/Debit cardholders of its member banks shortly.

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