ATMs to be phased out
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A CRM accepts cash, counts the notes, authenticates them and credits the amount to the bank account in real time
Banks have started to replace the traditional automated teller machines with cash recycler machines (CRM) that also allow cash to be credited in real time.
Unlike an ATM that just allows cash withdrawal, a CRM accepts cash, counts the notes, authenticates them and credits the amount to the bank account in real time, reducing the manual labour for the service for banks.
So far, three banks -- Southeast, City and United Commercial -- have installed 56 CRMs, with 166 more on the way over the next one year.
Southeast Bank has installed 12 CRMs in Dhaka city; by the end of March next year 50 more would be deployed, said Abdus Sabur Khan, the bank's head of cards.
Retailers will also be benefitted from the new technology as they would be able to deposit their daily sales earnings with the CRMs.
“Their money will be in a safe zone once they shut for the day.”
The service will be round-the-clock and there would be no additional charge for using the facility, Khan said.
City Bank will not install a traditional ATM anymore, said Mashrur Arefin, additional managing director of the bank, which has installed 10 CRMs thus far.
Another 50 machines would be installed by June next year, he said.
United Commercial Bank was the first to install the CRM in Bangladesh.
The bank set up its first CRM in January last year near the land registry office at Rupganj of Narayanganj under a pilot project.
The bank's customers adopted the new technology within a short time and that encouraged banks to go for CRM roll-out on a large scale, said a UCBL official.
As of now, it has installed 34 CRMs across the country and it will increase the number to 100 by December this year, he added.
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