Commercial Bank’s ATMs dispense record Rs. 25.3 b in December

The Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon dispensed a mammoth Rs. 25.3 billion in December 2012, establishing an all-time high for cash dispensed in a single month.

The bank’s 555 plus ATMs processed a record 5.57 million transactions between 1 and 31 December, and issued more than Rs. 1 billion in a day five times during the month, on 10, 21, 24, 28 and 31 December.

In the week preceding Christmas Day, the Commercial Bank ATM network, which is the single largest automated cash dispensing system owned by a bank in Sri Lanka, dispensed Rs. 6.56 billion as preparations for the festivities reached a peak.

The cumulative value of cash withdrawn in December 2012 beat the previous record set in April 2012 by 10 %, the bank said.

The highest number of transactions processed on a single day during the month was 274,000, on 31 December.

“Once again, our ATM network has played an indispensable role in enhancing convenience for hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans during one of the busiest periods of the year,” Commercial Bank’s Assistant General Manager – Operations Palitha Perera said.

He said the record statistics also underlined the robustness, capacity, and reliability of the bank’s ATM network and were a strong case for continued investment in expanding delivery channels to support the needs of customers country-wide.

Holders of Commercial Bank’s standard ATM cum Shopping Debit Cards can withdraw up to Rs. 40,000 from the bank’s ATMs per withdrawal. The bank also offers customers the option of setting their own ATM withdrawal limits up to a maximum of Rs. 100,000 a day, and a point-of-sale limit of up to Rs. 500,000.

Commercial Bank is the largest private bank in Sri Lanka, and operates a network of 227 computer-linked branches and service points. The bank won four major international awards as Sri Lanka’s Best Bank and Best Trade Bank in 2012 , and had the distinction of being the only Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World two years consecutively.

In addition, the bank’s 2011 Annual Report recently won three awards, including the Edmund J. Cooray Memorial Trophy for the Best Annual Report among the banking institutions.  

Overall, Commercial Bank has been adjudged ‘Best Bank in Sri Lanka’ for 14 consecutive years by ‘Global Finance’ Magazine and has won multiple awards as the country’s best bank from ‘The Banker,’ ‘FinanceAsia,’ ‘Euromoney’ and ‘Trade Finance’ magazines.