Taking cue from bigger banks and the new generation players, City Union Bank has started to offer its customers the option of opening term deposits online.

“The idea struck when I noticed that people by and large went for online booking of rail tickets. So, we decided to offer our entire gamut of services on the electronic platform, except for say, operating the locker, which obviously requires the physical presence of the account holder,” says Dr N. Kamakodi, Executive President of City Union Bank.

The bank's decision to allow its customers the option of transferring funds online from their savings account to term deposit is very recent. “The response has been phenomenal and quite unexpected, considering that we did not advertise about this offering. It was there on our site though. Within a week of its introduction, our online collection of term deposits swelled to about Rs 1 crore,” he said.

According to Dr Kamakodi, the applicants were not just youngsters and the tech-savvy ones. “Senior citizens have gone for it in a big way. We noticed this drift in many places,” he added.

Apart from opening an FD, the customer would also be able to avail loan against such deposits and foreclose the term deposit, if need be, all at the click of the mouse and from the comfort of his home, said the bank's Executive President.

On the bank's tie-up with the State Electricity Board for online remittance of power bill, he said, “The hit rate is on the rise. It has crossed the 5,000-mark. We were surprised when a customer in our rural branch at Thuraiyur collected the dues from around 150 people in the vicinity and made the remittance online.”

“We find that more and more people from rural pockets are now comfortably using Netbanking services,” he added.

Related Topics