The Hindu Business Line : Mumbai scores highest in ATM usage: Survey

ATMs are increasingly becoming a criterion for opening a bank account both by youngsters as well as the older generation. The importance of ATM in opening an account was given a weightage of between 4.4. to 4.8 on a scale of one to five, according to a recent survey.

Even among non-users or infrequent users, about 44 per cent considered it as an important service, while about 29 per cent considered it somewhat important, said the survey conducted by NCR Corporation, a leading global technology company and a leader in the ATMsector in India, through International Data Corporation.

The survey was commissioned to understand the behavioural pattern of ATM card users across the country. Conducted across 12 centres, the survey was divided into three age groups of ATM users and non-users.

Mr Deepak Chandnani, Managing Director of NCR Corporation's Financial Solutions Division in India, said, "The Indian consumer now expects to get an ATM card as a basic part of the banking service."

In terms of usage, it was found that ATMs were typically used for cash withdrawals, mini-statements and balance enquiry. About 88.5 per cent use ATMs for withdrawals as against 42 per cent using the branch. Among all the 12 centres, Mumbai scored highest in terms of ATM usage. In fact, ATM awareness has been longest in Mumbai compared with other places.

The survey findings also revealed that most users as well as non-users considered the number of ATM centres in any given city as inadequate. The users considered this to be most significant issue, with about 11.6 per cent citing it as the most important problem and about 17.9 per cent suggested more ATM centres. Even among non-users, the maximum weightage was given to `not enough' ATM centres a 4.4 on a scale of 5. Further, about 18.3 per cent of non-users spoke of more ATM centres as an important motivator for usage.

Consumers' wish list included suggestions such as providing information on bank services, opening of FD, cheque book requisition, utility bill payments, insurance premium , credit card and mobile bill payment.

Mr Chandnani said, "The wish-list given by consumers highlight the lack of awareness on the other facilities offers on an ATM, as many of the services asked by the consumer are already provided by many of the banks on their ATMs."

The survey also revealed certain misconceptions about ATM usage among non-users. Nearly 12.6 per cent believed that they needed to maintain high balances to be able to use ATMs. Nearly 3.5 per cent believed that they needed to go through tedious documentation to start using an ATM.

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