SBI to extend ATM services to Visa and MasterCard clients

By Our Banking Bureau | 06 Aug 2003

Mumbai: The State Bank group plans to throw open its ATM switch to other banks in a couple of months' time, after uplinking its connectivity to the Visa International network. The bank already has connectivity with the MasterCard International network.

"With this, both domestic customers of any bank and foreign travellers who use credit cards, debit cards, smart cards or ATM cards on the Visa or MasterCard platform will be able to access any State Bank ATM for cash withdrawals or balance enquiries," says an SBI official.

Currently, SBI and associates have the largest integrated ATM network in India, totalling 1,800, to which another 1,200 ATMs will be added by the end of this fiscal.

According to the bank official, SBI credit cardholders can now withdraw cash up to Rs 10,000 from the ATM itself, where earlier they were required to come to a branch for such withdrawals.

The State Bank group is also in the process of inking agreements with HPCL and BPCL for locating ATMs in petrol pumps across the country. Currently, the bank is examining 1,000 locations for this purpose.