India Post ATMs will come into operation at 17 new places in the western region by March 15. This will take the total number of India Post ATMs in the region to 22, including the five that are currently operating at Bhavani, Aathur, Darapuram, Erode, and Coimbatore.
And Krishnagiri head post office as one among the 17, will have its own postal savings bank account ATM.
Machines are being installed, and cash is being loaded ahead of the trial run. The ATMs will start functioning by March 15, says Manju P. Pillai, Post Master General, Western Region.
This has been possible because of adopting core banking solutions, Ms. Pillai told The Hindu overphone.
Of the 606 post offices in the western region, 589 have migrated to the core banking solutions.
“The remaining 17 post offices are under various stages of migration to the system. Most of these are in isolated areas such as The Nilgiris, and Pollachi, where the network and connectivity are an issue,” she said.
The Krishnagiri head post, which has an ATM, has an estimated 13,000 savings accounts.
For now, the department is looking to focus on rural areas to establish ATMs.
“The ATMs at Aathur, and Dharapuram have found maximum use,” she said.
The ATMs have to an extent helped staff at post offices. The long queues especially when pension is disbursed have become shorter, she said.
At a later stage, the ATM cards provided by post officers can be used in any other ATMs of banks too and vice-versa, Ms. Pillai said. This will help customers of post offices and banks.
