Commercial Bank’s ATMs set new records this Avurudu

Tuesday, 21 April 2015 00:56 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Rs. 2.5 b dispensed on 10 April, surpassing previous highest per day amount of Rs. 2 b If withdrawals from the ATMs of Commercial Bank in the Avurudu season are anything to go by, Sri Lankans celebrated their New Year on a grand scale in 2015, establishing new records for cash dispensed from the largest automated teller network owned by a single bank in the country. The previous record of Rs 2.05 billion for cash withdrawals in a single day set on 11 April 2014, was broken on Friday, 10 April, when users of the Commercial Bank’s 610-terminal ATM network withdrew Rs. 2.49 billion, an increase of Rs. 441 million.

In a record breaking 12-day run, the bank’s ATM network dispensed Rs. 17.2 billion between 1 and 12 April, of which Rs. 11.8 billion was dispensed over the seven days from 6 to 12 April, the bank said. The number of transactions processed in the first 12 days of the month exceeded two million of which 1.3 million was during the peak week. Commercial Bank’s two-day record for cash dispensed via its ATM network was also broken this year, with Rs. 4.55 billion on 10 and 11 April, beating last year’s two-day figure of Rs. 4 billion. The average ticket size of a withdrawal on 10 April was Rs. 11,642, also higher than a year previously. The bank said that these statistics demonstrate the important role the Commercial Bank ATM network plays in the lives of millions of people in Sri Lanka, and reaffirms the value of the technology as well as the capacity, robustness and reliability of the bank’s ATM network. These aspects are particularly important during peak shopping seasons such as the Sinhala and Tamil New Year and Christmas. The Commercial Bank ATM network is the largest automated cash dispensing facility owned by a single bank in Sri Lanka. 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. The only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the Top 1000 banks of the world for four consecutive years (2011-2014), Commercial Bank operates a network of 242 branches in Sri Lanka. The bank has won multiple awards as Sri Lanka’s best bank over several years, and was adjudged one of the country’s 10 best corporate citizens by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in 2013 and 2014. The bank has been rated the Most Respected Bank in Sri Lanka by LMD for the past 10 years, has been the second Most Respected Corporate entity in the country overall for the past four years, and been rated No. 1 in Sri Lanka for Honesty in 2013 and 2014 by the magazine.