May 25, 2004 08:57 PM
8159 Views
(Updated May 25, 2004 08:57 PM)
Review : Dear Mouth shut members, well when I first heard of ATM cards I wasn't very much mature enough to use even my ordinary bank account. It was my Mom who taught to run Account.
Mine was Saving Account. Now I am fully aware of running accounts very well. My account was at the SBI which the oldest unit out here. Recently ( for the past few years) I have been hearing of ATm cards etc, but not in SBI bank but in private banks such as HDFC, ICICI, UTI, CORP BANK etc.
In our city I heard of ATM cards being provided to their customers by the above banks. Of course maintaining minimum balance in those banks was very high when compared to SBI. It was a dream for ordinary people to have ATM cards. Then recently I noticed SBI ATM counters being coming up in our City. Then I went to the SBI main branch (luckily my account was in the same bank) I then enquired at the bank about the method of getting the card.
It was astonishing to find that their was not any particular counter for ATM card it was managed by the manager himself. The manager seems to very much busy with daily banking activities, and it seems that he was not getting time to furnish queries of the customers about ATM cards.
Anyway I filled up the form and submitted. After a month I got the card at my corresponding address. Then I went up to the bank for the PIN number. After several trip top the bank I got the Pin number finally.
I was now ready to make use of the new card. Happily I went to the nearest atm and started using the ATM . To my amusement I found that the counter always showed me various types of errors to each of my request.
Sadly I went to the other ATM where the same thing happened. Of course to mentioned that SBI has the largest numbers of ATms in our cities all of them well up to standard. But very sad to say that they dont meet up the customers request. I started daily habits of goin to ATM counter that someday I may be lucky to extract money. One day I was successfull in withdrawing money counter coz the counter was filled with money by their respective caretaker.
But to my amusement a five hundred currency note was partly torn out which I immediately got it exchanged from the SBI bank above it. Thanx god that it was day time and the bank was open. Many of my friends were interested in gettin their account opened at the SBI bank and then get a ATM card but I advised them to have their ACCOUNT open at pvt bank so that when they need to withdraw money at emergency time or any other unforseen events there is surety of getting money.
My comment is that SBI atm card can be now available to all middle class people but it is a useless card because MOST of the ATM counters are not filled with money and they dont even meet the customers request. It furnishes money once or twice after trying 10 times in a week. Not to mention SBI account holder can withdraw money from other BANKS ATM but that will cost dearer to the users the SBI ATM counters is just a muke in the city. It is a wastage of GOvt. money. the SBI manager seems not accepting his mistake of unable to maintaining the ATM.
Pros : can be available at cheap price to most people
Cons: Useless ATM counters
