Since in the age of smart banking ATMS are falling under basic amenities category, this news might bring a sense of relief for HDFC customers. Amid the coronavirus crisis, HDFC Bank plans to expand the network of its mobile ATM service across the country.
The service is currently available in 20 cities, including the National Capital Region (NCR), Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Pune, Indore and Jaipur.
The mobile operations gain significance amid the pandemic as concerns among the people regarding moving out are likely to persist for a longer period of time even after the lockdown is lifted.
With its successful operation across 20 cities, now the private lender wants to roll out the services in 30 more cities.
The list of the cities where the bank plans to roll out its customer-friendly services include both tier-II and tier-III cities.
The new locations include Vadodara, Surat, Kota, Gurgaon, Nashik, Ludhiana, Jammu, Rajkot, Thiruvanthapuram, Trichy, Salem, Kanpur, Agra, Gorakhpur, Karnal, Muzaffarpur, Nagpur, Pondicherry, Siliguri, Mysore, Tirupati, Bhopal and Jamshedpur.
According to the company, all necessary precautions in terms of maintaining social distancing while queuing for the ATM and sanitisation are taken to ensure the safety of staff and customers at the mobile ATMs.
The Indian Banks' Association also has recently come up with strict measures for sanitisation of ATMs as the lockdown restrictions have been eased starting May 4. ATMs come under essential services as they cater to the common man's need for cash.