India to have cheque-reading ATMs soon

In a customer-friendly move,
some banks in India are
testing a technology
that facilitates instant cheque encashing
at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
Government owned State Bank of India (SBI),
IDBI Bank and ING Vysya Bank are a few banks
that have shown interest in such ATMs.
Banking regulator Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
too has welcomed the move,
saying it will be good for customers.


Used widely across North America and Europe,
Cheque Truncating Machines (CTM) -
the machines that make real-time cheque verification
and clearance possible - is placed
inside special ATMs.

Companies like U.S. based NCR Corporation
and Diebold, who manufacture these machines
are now trying to convince the banks in
India to use this technology.

Pradeep Sen, Managing Director of NCR India
says that the company has been showcasing
its CTM-ATMs to banks in India since last month.

A CTM-ATM scans the cheque inserted in and
produces a digital image of the same.
It sends the digital cheque image electronically
to the IT network of the issuing bank for clearance.
Within seconds, the amount is credited to the
customer's account, which one can withdraw
immediately with a debit card.

An RBI spokesperson said that banks are
already allowed to use CTM scanners for
inter and intra bank purposes. CTM-based
ATMs will be part of the real time gross
settlement (RTGS) already in place in
India's banking system.

NCR also plans to bring another technology
to ATM users in India. "We will also be
launching new ATM machines, in which
you can just insert a bundle of notes
of any denomination.

The ATMs will read the notes, and credit
the amount in your account instantly," said Sen.

Currently, one has to put cash inside an envelope
to deposit inside ATM. It gets credited in about
24 hours. There are over 48,000 ATMs in the country,
split between three big makers - NCR, Diebold and
Germany based Wincor Nixdorf.