ATM by any other name is UTI Bank

UTI Bank may not be the numero uno in terms of asset base or profitability, but when it comes to using automated teller machines, one of the alternative banking channels, it's right at the top. About 93 per cent of the bank's retail cash transactions are done through ATMs.

This is the highest compared to any other bank and much higher than the technology-savvy ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. At ICICI Bank, financial and non-financial transactions through ATMs account for 50 per cent of its total transactions, while in the case of HDFC Bank, it's 80 per cent.

ICICI Bank, with an asset base of Rs 1,25,228 crore (Rs 1,252.28 billion), has an ATM network of 1,802, while HDFC Bank, with a asset base of Rs 42,306 crore (Rs 423.06 billion), has about 975 ATMs. UTI Bank, which has Rs 24,150 crore (Rs 241.50 billion) in assets, has 1,400 ATMs, and has plans to increase the number to 1,600 by the end of the year.

Moreover, if the bank's bilateral and multilateral ATM-sharing arrangements with other banks are taken into account, its customers have access to around 10,000 ATMs.

The bank has bilateral tie-ups with State Bank of India and its associate banks, Bank of Rajasthan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ABN Amro Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Andhra Bank. It is a part of multilateral ATM-sharing arrangements Cashnet, Mitr and Bancs.

ICICI Bank has a ATM-sharing agreements with Federal Bank and Andhra Bank, while HDFC Bank shares its ATMs with SBI and Andhra Bank.

UTI Bank earns Rs 1.6 crore (Rs 16 million) in fees from bilateral and multilateral tie-ups, said Aspy Engineer, vice-president (ATMs), UTI Bank.

"The bank charges Rs 18 to 20 per financial transaction and Rs 5 to 7 per non-financial transaction each time a customer from another bank accesses its network," he added.

"Through such tie-ups, customers of a bank stand to gain a lot as they have access to the largest ATM network at discounted rates. And it's good for the bank, too, which gains through interchange income," said Engineer.

UTI Bank is the only bank to have a maximum number (six) of ATMs in Port Blair, followed by SBI, which has just two.

Moreover, the bank has installed an ATM 13,200 feet above the sea level at Thegu, in Gangtok, to serve the defence personnel posted in that area.