Moneylife » Personal Finance » Banking » Relying on your ATM for emergency cash? Think again
Relying on your ATM for emergency cash? Think again
- 28 comments
- + COMMENT
| 12/06/2012 03:54 PM |
You may be nastily surprised that your ATM has run out of money when you really need it
On 12 June 2012, we went to Oriental Bank of Commerce at HAL III Stage, Bengaluru, at 8.15am to withdraw money from the ATM. The transaction was declined. We were surprised as this was a Tuesday and not a Monday when ATMs sometime run out cash. We hopped across to the Canara Bank ATM across the road and here also we faced the same situation. The transaction was declined. A Canara Bank staffer informed us that the banks had outsourced the entire process of uploading the cash in the ATM machines to a sub-contractor. This contractor hadn't done his duty of replenishing the ATM machine. What is the use of such ATMs? It is ironical that these are the banks that claim to be doing great business. You will be surprised to note that there are no standard operating instructions on how to use the ATM cards.
The ATM rooms were filled with scrap in both the banks. A senior citizen who followed us to withdraw cash at the Canara Bank was ATM was shocked when he got a SMS saying his account was debited though the transaction was declined by ATM. We pacified him and asked him to take a Photostat copy of the transaction slip in case it was needed for future correspondence with the bank. When will these nationalized banks improve?
When we called up the Canara Bank branch later, we were informed that both the branch manager and assistant manager were on leave and that the contractor who was supposed to have loaded the cash in the machine had not turned up. If someone needed cash urgently on a Monday morning, what would he do? Whenever banks talk about core banking solutions (CBS), we have to take it with a pinch of salt. Most nationalized banks have CBS as part of their strategy of-"We are also into CBS" but they have very little knowledge in case there is a problem with the technology.
I have seen bank officials in other banks (Indian Bank, for instance) personally uploading the cash in the ATM machine. Then what is prompting banks such as Canara Bank and OBC to outsource these activities? A few days back there were reports that ATM machines in Bengaluru were broken into and cash stolen by thieves. Point to be noted here is that both the ATMs are located exactly opposite each other do not have a security guard too.
What is the use of technology if it can't come to our aid at time of need? The branch executive in Canara Bank coolly asked us to write an email to the CMD. OBC's official opening hours are 10am but the staff breeze in only by 10.30am. We are sure what the response is going to be in from OBC too -a simple apology and asking us to a send an email to the customer service cell. Banks need to ponder over the fact that despite having the best technology at their disposal, they still have to deal with the human inefficiencies in their system while customers must think twice about blindly relying on ATMs. They may get badly stuck when they really need the money.
More in Moneylife
Sensex Rally: Winners and Losers as the index challenges the high of 2010 +2053 views
TODAY'S TOP STORIES
VIDEOS
Keep your Money Safe: Avoid money traps and MLM
LATEST COMMENT
MORE
Compensate bank customers if they fail to get desired service –Part II
|
|
|
- Is the interest in Gold ETFs waning?
- OMCs to stop LPG deliveries to houses with multiple-connections from 1st June
- Phaneesh Murthy: Let off by Infosys, sacked by iGate over sexual harassment charges
- Sun TV Networks announces 11% jump in its net profit
- BSE to shift 29 scrips to T group category for failure to comply with demat norms
- COMPAT orders cement cos to pay 10% of the Rs6,307 crore penalty
- S&P cautions India of rating downgrade; retains negative outlook
- ITC net profit up 19.4%, aided by non-cigarette and agri-business segments
- Vikram Pandit to buy stake in JM Financial, to head its proposed banking arm
- MMM India, another MLM taking people for “double-your-money” ride
- RBI tells HDFC Bank not to make up its own KYC verification rules
- Why I-T returns of Pawar, Jindal and Gandhi are exempted from RTI?
- The draconian LBT: Local Body Tax explained
- How much longer can the FM, RBI ignore HSBC in India?
- Aadhaar: Private ownership of UID data- Part I
- Aadhaar: Who owns the UID database? –Part II
- Did HSBC Bank resort to toxic churning and illegitimate transactions to earn commissions?
- PNB Metlife refunds Rs25,000 to the correct policyholder: another Moneylife victory
- The draconian LBT: Local Body Tax explained
- Goa’s Advocate General is the highest paid across the country, reveals RTI
- Mass mis-selling: 59,000 investors in Kolhapur are alleged to have lost money in LIC ULIPs
- Do FIIs buy high and sell low – I? Maximum buying at peak index levels
- Investors lost Rs1 lakh crore due to poor regulation. Will there be a CBI probe?
- Directors of public sector banks: The ground reality
- Do FIIs buy high and sell low–II? Momentum-chasing
- Do FIIs buy high and sell low–III? Panic-selling during declines
- Has Rakesh Maria tried to salvage his image through Ram Gopal Varma’s film on the 26/11 attack?
What's your say?
What you said
Thanks for casting your votes! View Previous Polls
Join 22, 000 Others
Membership Benefits
- Daily & Weekly newsletters
- Access to www.moneylife.in to comment, create alerts
- Your own profile in Moneylife.in
- All special mailers
- Basic membership to MSSN, our new initiative
- Free ebooks
- Invitation to events
- Invitation to round-table meets
- Access to Insurance helpline
- Access to counselling sessions
- Access to Reading room in Mumbai
Foundation Events
Comment
Mohandas 1 year ago
It is all bogus as observed by you Veereshji. My friend, a big officer in railways, used to freely arrange EQ whenever requested by his near and dear. I have also enjoyed his patronage when some unexpected journey was to be undertaken. Unless the term VIP is defined, this malpractice will continue
param 1 year ago in reply to Mohandas
"freely arrange EQ whenever requested by his near and dear"
what about those who are not near & dear - is that still free or at a price???
Mohandas 1 year ago in reply to param
Param, my friend has since retired from railways. Or else I would have been in problem to give you an answer. However, I wrote this to point out that quite often the VIPs who enjoy EQ are ordinary people like me who are near and dear to some big officer of railways and hence the need to define VIP
param 1 year ago in reply to Mohandas
no offence meant to your friend. i'm sure most of the officials authorized to sign on HO quota earn enough not to make this into an income stream...
however, the fact is that it still stinks as one becomes VIP by association. EQ is meant for emergency, meaning people who have to travel at short notice left without a choice. but in reality a common man cannot approach an official to request EQ for this need (even if he had a telegram that his mom died). so end of the day, the HO quota is used by rly officials (perhaps 5%), their friends/family (another 10%), geunine EQ candidates who could find their way thru the red tape (perhaps 5%) and rest 80% gets auctioned to the travel agents who then 'claim' in the market that they can get a tkt confirmed at PREMIUM...
Mohandas 1 year ago in reply to param
Param, Percentages may vary but by and large I agree with you. I have noticed one thing - the poor do not know that something called EQ exists. They always travel by unreserved class
malq 1 year ago in reply to Mohandas
This news report on a Court Case on this subject may be of interest:-
http://www.newsreporter.in/advocate-move...
Triloki Bhatara 1 year ago
India is a country still mired in license-quota raj. We need to get rid of ALL subsidies and reservations. Free education should be provided to all upto 12th std and after that everyone should stand in the General queue - for education, for jobs, for everything else. The gora rulers left and left behind the Maharajas...... the common man has to wake up.. its high time.
Triloki Bhatara
param 1 year ago
perhaps the most hilarious one is the MLA/MP seat reservation in buses. i really wish i could see the day when an MLA or MP actually travels in the bus & utilizes that seat quota :)
nagesh kini 1 year ago in reply to param
Didn't PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee take a bus ride to Lahore ?
param 1 year ago in reply to nagesh kini
perhaps yes, but did he take the regular DTC bus (using his reserved seat) from home to office as well?
symbolic gestures are well - symbolic. when inspector is visiting, all schools are tidied up. what happens on regular basis is what matters...
malq 1 year ago in reply to param
DTC operates a fleet of MP specials - used to be Matador type vans, now they use Maruti Eeko and upwards, all AirCon, I think they are almost free . . . fare used to be 10 paise, no idea what it is anymore.
VIP Premi 1 year ago
VIPs become VIPs because they are superior to others. If you were smart enough you would have also been living a high life, lording over the stupid, inferior people, instead of whining about the successful. It is just a case of sour grapes.
malq 1 year ago in reply to VIP Premi
Dear VIP Premi, thank you for writing in.
Get well soon. See you with a red mug. On your cycle. Soon?
rgds/VM
VIP Premi 1 year ago in reply to malq
Dear malq, I am unlikely to get well very soon with all those VIPs getting far ahead of me in the game. I am so upset. Would have been happy flaunting my environment friendly Porsche sports and DeltaAscend cycles, but this country doesn't have proper paths for them. Drop the conceit that you can change anything in the matter. People here are are too stupid to deserve anything better than being kicked around and have their noses rubbed in the ground by every petty VIP. Hope you see the light and join the race for VIPship yourself, even if it's in a small way. Regards.
sunder mahesh 1 year ago in reply to VIP Premi
what a load of crap.... if you really have shit loads of money and the porche and blah that you claim,
let me ask whether you have earned it legitimately.
If you have - then I still have a question for you. What are YOU doing for the country other then writing garbage on websites. If you read Moneylife you surely have seen their struggles to expose the bad and to work for the good. Why dont you join their effort or at least support it by throwing cash, which you are flaunting? Moneylife Foundation can save you some tax too ... its a not-for-profit.
Otherwise, you are part of the rot, so how dare you expect better.
Veeresh....THANK YOU FOR YOUR CRUSADE.. keep it up friend. There are many like us who want to clean up the system and get rid of VIPpremi scum!
Nagesh Kini 1 year ago
Our so-called neta-babu and their ilk consider themselves to be self-styled VIP where they believe the I stands for Indispensible.
This practice needs to be thrown out lock, stock and barrel from all places - railways, airlines, traffic, even in permitting them to jump Qs .
The Raj era Order of Preference has also to be scrapped in its totality.
REST ASSURED ALL THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THE PARTIES WHO SIGN THE REVOCATION AS THE SAME ONES WHO ABUSE THE SYSTEM - WHY SHOULD THEY DENY THEMSELVES AND THOSE TO FOLLOW OF THE MANY HIDDEN BENEFITS KNOWINGLY?
malq 1 year ago in reply to Nagesh Kini
We can only keep trying!!
best/VM