Commercial Bank ATMs dispense Rs 7.6 b in week preceding ‘Avurudu’

The record books were rewritten when country's single largest ATM network owned and operated by the Commercial Bank of Ceylon dispensed a mammoth Rs. 1.6 billion on Tuesday, 10 April as Sri Lankans prepared to celebrate the National New Year.

This single-day record by the country’s largest electronic cash dispensing network of 512 ATMs surpassed the previous record of Rs. 1.2 billion set by Commercial Bank on 8 April. In the seven days to 11 April, the day before the four-day ‘Avurudu’ weekend, the Bank’s ATM’s dispensed a total of Rs. 7.6 billion, at an average of more than Rs. 1 billion a day.

More than 306,000 transactions had been processed by the Bank’s ATM network on 10 April alone, at an average of over 600 per machine and an average frequency of one cash dispensation every 2.4 minutes over a 24 hour period. This demonstrates the robustness of the ATMs and the Bank’s ability to replenish them speedily as cash is withdrawn, the Bank said.

Between 10 and 12 April, the Bank’s ATM network processed more than 808,000 transactions and dispensed Rs. 4.2 billion, the highest value to date for a three-day period.

“This is a perfect example of how the Commercial Bank’s facilitates the day-to-day lives of millions of people, and emphasises the robustness, capacity and reliability of our ATM network,” the Bank’s Deputy General Manager Operations Sanath Bandaranayake said.

“It also fully justifies our continued investment in expanding our delivery channels to support the ever-growing needs of the public all over 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, provided funds are available in their accounts.

The only Sri Lankan Bank listed in the World’s Top 1,000 Banks, the Commercial Bank of Ceylon is Sri Lanka’s largest private bank. The Bank operates 214 computer-linked branches and service points in Sri Lanka and has been adjudged Best Bank in the country for 14 consecutive years by ‘Global Finance’ Magazine. It has also won multiple awards as Sri Lanka’s best bank from ‘The Banker,’ ‘FinanceAsia,’ ‘Euromoney’ and ‘Trade Finance’ magazines.