Bank of India introduces card-less cash withdrawal facility

Bank of India has become the first lender in the country to start card-less cash withdrawal facility.

According to a report, customers of Bank of India can now withdraw cash without opening an account with the bank. The facility is aimed at helping migrant labour.

Under the instant money transfer (IMT), bank users can transfer money to the account of another person by using the receiver's number. A sum of Rs25,000 is the maximum that customers can withdraw in a month and the sender would be charged a sum of Rs25 for each transaction.

According to a manager of the bank he felt the charges somewhat on the higher side for the working community, and the bank would try to lower the charges.

The bank was looking to introduce the facility to the customers through mobile handsets and was also planning to make all the ATMs of the bank IMT oriented. Also, the bank would be adding 100 new branches by the next fiscal year.

RBI governor Raghuram Rajan had said a few weeks ago that individuals would soon be able to withdraw money from automated teller machines (ATM) without a bank account.

The IMT facility allows customers to send money to a receiver by using the mobile number of the receiver through the bank's ATM or using retail internet banking facility. The receiver can visit the ATMs of the bank and withdraw the money without using a debit card.

The partial details for cash withdrawal would be received by the receiver on mobile phones.

"This service is in line with the RBI's expectation of expanding financial inclusion, wherein fund transfer can happen from account holders to those without accounts through ATMs," BoI chairperson and managing director V R Iyer told reporters.

Iyer added that some ATMs were being made ITM-enabled already and the facility would be extended to other ATMs in the next 20 days.

According to the bank, a beneficiary could withdraw up to Rs25,000 through IMT transaction in a month while the limit for per transaction was Rs 10,000.

According to Iyer 2,100 ATMs had been added by the bank in the current fiscal and the bank now had 4,000 ATMs across the country.

He added that 100 more ATMs would be added this week.