Soon, you may be able to deposit cash in specially designed ATMs and get an instant alert on your cell phone confirming immediate credit to your account.

Banks are exploring options for automated cash deposit machines, after tasting success in allowing cash withdrawals through ATMs.

At least, two public sector banks – State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank - are testing such facilities here, inform sources in the know.

To start with, the banks are placing such machines in branches or designated centres for premium customers as a pilot project. Later, upon wider acceptance, banks will consider putting them at ATM kiosks next to cash dispensers. Internationally, many countries allow the use of ATMs as “recyclers” – allowing customers to deposit and withdraw cash from the same machine. In fact, in such recyclers, the cash deposited by one customer can be immediately disbursed to the next customer seeking cash withdrawal.

However, bank officials here are not clear on whether same funds can be recycled according to policy.

“The RBI may insist that cash accepted be processed, and kept in a vault before you can disburse the same money to others,” said a bank official.

Other issues to be tackled here by banks include how to place deposit machines in the small space provided for cash withdrawal ATM kiosks.

“In fact, international companies have to design special software in these deposit ATMs to verify the Rs 1,000 currency note which has a large Mahatma Gandhi image — this is probably the largest image verification required across currencies. The US dollar notes of all denominations are of the same size,” said a source.

In the PNB cash deposit machine, the customer has to punch his account number and also provide his mobile number. The machine counts the amount and gives a receipt. As the machine is linked to the core banking network, the credit is immediately given to the customer's account.

The banks' future strategy on usage of such machines will depend on the response they get in the pilots. There will have to be critical mass.

“The day is not far off when cash deposits are done through such machines in a big way,” banking industry sources said.

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