The second largest public sector bank, Bank of Baroda, is in the process of expanding alternative delivery channels. The bank will set up more e-lobbies, ATMs and other card-swiping terminals across the country during the current financial year at an investment of Rs 500 crore.
It has opened 35 e-lobbies where customers can withdraw and deposit cash or cheque, get the passbook updated and transact business through Net banking.
“By the end of this financial year, we will take the total number of e-lobbies to 50. And, depending on demand, to 100 or 200 ,” said S. S. Mundra, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank. He was in Chennai to launch 31 ATMs of the bank in Tamil Nadu and Kerala zones.
“The idea is to meet the diverse needs of different customers.
First, we are ramping up our ATM network. By end of this fiscal, we intend to increase the number of ATMs to about 6,000 and card-swiping terminals to 25,000,” he said.
The bank has added 2,000 ATMs in the last few months to its network of 2,600. It currently has 5,000 card-swiping terminals across the country.
Self-service passbook printing kiosks are also on the cards, he said. At least, 1,500 branches will have this facility by the end of the year.
More than 56 per cent of transactions are happening through alternative delivery channels and this will go up to 65 per cent in the coming, he added.