[IMGCAP(1)]
Bank of India plans to install portable ATMs that feature fingerprint authentication, an official from the Mumbai-based financial institution tells CardLine Global, a sister publication of ATM&Debit News.
The bank initially will deploy the machines in Karnatak, a state in southern India, the spokesperson says.
The first machines will go to Mysore, an administrative district in the state where the bank operates five branches. The bank has yet to release a detailed timetable for deployment, the spokesperson says.
The bank deploys 491 ATMs in India, of which nearly 200 are located offsite. The bank hopes to attract more rural customers through the ATM deployments.
Such ATMs typically enable customers, most of whom are illiterate, to authenticate themselves by pressing thumbs or fingers against a reader or scanner.
"The concept of biometric ATMs is essentially to address the illiterate rural customers, which eliminates the barrier of carrying a debit or credit card and remembering the PIN," says Prathima Rajan, an-India-based analyst with United States-based research firm Celent.
"Portable ATMs cover many small villages and thereby help the local rural customers withdraw or deposit money without having to think about accessibility." ATM
