Cheers-5,000+ White Label ATMs now in our country

            An important milestone has been crossed in India’s White Label ATMs journey. In November 2014, the number of LIVE White Label ATMs has crossed 5,000+

            As on date there are 7 WLAO’s live in India. As the operators gain experience they are rapidly expanding their foot-prints all over the country.

            The number of transactions executed by the White Label ATMs is not in public domain. However, a fair idea of the number of present transactions can be ascertained from this article.

            At present the focus is on creating a fair sized network of ATMs. The next focus would be on ways and means to increase the foot-falls at these ATMs.

            There are concerns that the average number of transactions at ATMs is slowly decreasing and is also cause of worry for WLAOs. The next target of 10,000+ White Label ATMs is expected to be crossed by the end of this financial year. 

            

Indian Cooperative Banks to join the PMJDY cluster

            Buoyed by the success of PMJDY, a number of cooperative banks have sought clarification from Reserve Bank of India, as to whether the cooperative banks can open PMJDY Accounts.

            Dr.Alok Pande Director in Department of Financial Services, has issued a circular stating the minimum requirements cooperative banks should have to open PMJDY Accounts.

            As per the circular, Cooperative Banks (Urban/Rural) which are on CBS (Core Banking Solution) and are having arrangement with NPCI for issuance of RuPay Debit Cards are eligible to open accounts under PMJDY.

            This is one more step towards 100% banking coverage to all Indian households by 26^th January, 2015.   

As on date 200+ cooperative and gramin banks can issue RuPay Debit Cards. The banks are spread over all over India.  

In one of the biggest initiatives towards institution capacity building, NABARD is facilitating the process of bringing the Co-operative Sector onto Core Banking Solution (CBS) platform.

A total of 201 State and Central Co-operative Banks with 6,940 branches from 16 states & 03 UTs of the country, viz. Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, UP, Chhattisgarh, MP, Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Puducherry and Andaman & Nicobar have joined “NABARD initiated Project for CBS in Co-operatives”.

Two vendors, viz. TCS and Wipro, are implementing the ambitious project across the country.

Of the 201 banks with 6 ,940 branches under NABARD Project, 200 banks and 6,939 branches are fully on CBS as on 31st August 2014. This includes 114 new branches which were directly opened on CBS platform.

It’s official – CAT 2014 – Fees Only through ePayments

            The curtain raiser of CAT 2014 begun yesterday with the announcement of the CAT 2014 Exam Schedule by Indian Institute of Management, Indore.

            The official website of CAT 2014 is yet to be launched; currently the pointers are at CAT 2013 site only. It is a bit surprising that the official notification is also not available on the internet.

            Till last year, the exam fees could be paid through ePayment mode and purchase of offline vouchers. This year ONLY ePayments are allowed and the offline mode has been discontinued. The candidates are required to make the payment through online mode only via debit card, credit card and net banking. This is a radical move towards Safe ePayments.

            Candidates will have to make the payment for registration fee through online modes only including credit card, debit card or through net banking.

            As the registration for the CAT 2014 will be open for 56 days from August 6 till September 30, the official notification will be updated on the website in a couple of days.

Students will be able to download admit card from October 16 to till examination date. The results will be declared in the third week of December 2014. 

This year the exam contract has gone to Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS), which has translated into more user friendly.

The CAT 2014 will be conducted only for two days this year i.e. on November 16 and November 22 only in forenoon and afternoon sessions. The examination will be conducted in 99 cities comprising 354 test sites. Last year, there were 45 test sites only.