New ATM technology offered to rural banks

The country's largest independent automated teller machine provider is expanding its ATM network to 200 by the end of the year or early 2010, while making it affordable for small banks to become ATM card issuers using a new technology platform.

Electronic Network Cash Tellers Inc. (Encash), which currently has 126 ATMs deployed mostly in areas not attractive to regular banks, has also diversified its services by offering a new core banking solution called Savant.

The solution is a web-based suite of applications designed to provide rural banks a real, centralized, multibranch, online system with account balance updates performed in real time.

“Savant is getting good reaction. The application really fits the requirement of the rural banks,” Encash president Eric Severino said in an interview.

“We think of it as a vehicle where it would add more ATM transactions to our ATM business because it now allow rural banks to issue ATM cards and use this in our network as well as in other networks,” Encash director Mike Mapa added.

Four of the country’s leading rural banks have already signed up for this banking solution—GM Bank of Nueva Ecija, Bank of Florida of Pampanga, Bangko Kabayan of Batangas and 1st Valley Bank of Lanao del Norte.