Bank of Ceylon’s landmark 1,000th ATM/CDM point in Kuliyapitiya

Deputy General Manager Sales and Channel Management C. Amarasinghe opening the landmark 1,000th ATM/CDM machine at the Kuliyapitiya second branch. Assistant General Manager North Western Province I.M.L Karunathilake is also in the picture

The Bank of Ceylon installed its 1,000th ATM/CDM point at the Kuliyapitiya second branch on 26 November in line with the opening of the newly-relocated Kuliyapitiya second branch. Expanding the reach to facilitate every Sri Lankan with the digital technology, Bank of Ceylon becomes the only bank to own a CDM/ATM Network with 1,000 machines in Sri Lanka. 

The 1,000th machine was declared opened by Deputy General Manager Sales and Channel Management C. Amarasinghe. As a part of the objective to empower Sri Lankans through digitalising the banking landscape of the country, BOC began its digital transformation journey way back in 2015 and now operating at its best. 

Customers throughout the country can enjoy seamless banking transaction 24x7 conveniently and securely with these strategically-located CDM/ATM machines. Another objective the bank has fulfilled was to take the latest banking technology over the boundaries of Colombo and its suburbs to other areas of the country.

“We are happy to announce that our mission to empower Sri Lankans throughout the country, to access convenience of banking despite geographical barriers, have been a success story and we have enriched lives of the rural population through our digitisation strategy. We have connected our customers to transact among each other wherever they are and whenever they want,” stated Head of IT Laxman Perera.

“Our reach has become one of our greatest strengths, it strengthen our claim on the title ‘Bankers to the Nation’. This initiative is another step forward to provide a reliable and convenient banking service to customers around the clock, we look forward to move forward with this process by identifying more strategic hotspots in outer Colombo areas,” stated Amarasinghe. 

With these new feature-filled Cash Deposit Machines, customers can instantly deposit cash straight into their BOC account to be credited real time without an additional charge. Unlike many cash deposit machines which requires money to be fed into the machine note by note or be inserted into an envelope, this machine allows customers to place a total bundle of 200 notes in a mix of any denomination in a single transaction. 

This machine also accepts deposits made by ATM cards or fund transfers made by simply keying debit account and the credit account numbers as per instruction displayed on CDMs graphic screen. Currently the maximum deposit value using an ATM Card for a customer’s own account is set to Rs. 1 million and cash deposits to one’s own account or third party is set to Rs. 200,000. 

Coming up with innovative ways and means to enrich the lives of the bank’s diverse customer base, the bank looks forward to extend this facility further within the branch network that is spread across the country.  Operating these CDMs are made easy as all simple steps that need to be followed are displayed on the machine’s graphic screen guiding the customer step-by-step till the end of the process. 

The customers will receive a detailed mini-statement once the transaction is completed. If customers prefer to make the transaction completely paperless this CDM gives the customer the opportunity to activate an SMS alert to be received to a given mobile number.

Similarly ATM machines also provide a convenient service for its customers with quick cash requirements allowing customer to assess his/her account status by issuing a mini-statement as an option. If not customers simply can check for their account details/ balance inquiry through the display screen of the ATM by following simple instructions given on the screen. The CRM machine works both ways as a cash recycler machine that allows customer to deposit, transfer, pay utility bills and withdraw money through the same machine. 

Through the digitisation process the bank was able to embark on green banking effectively. In similar initiatives such as widening the CDM/ATM network and similar technology the bank successfully reduced the carbon footprint on the environment whilst empowering customers.