Visa card holders can use Karur Vysya Bank ATMs

Chennai: Continuing with its plans to put its ATMs to optimum use, the Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) has tied up Visa International to facilitate cash withdrawals for holders of Visa credit cards to draw KVB's 156 ATMs.

The withdrawal, however can only be made in Indian rupees. For foreign nationals with a Visa credit / debit card, withdrawing cash from a KVB ATM, this means that irrespective of the currency in which their account is maintained, the amount to be withdrawn will be converted in to Indian currency equivalent.

With its tie-ups with other private banks, customers of Karur Vysya Bank can access around 3,000 ATMs.

Speaking on the new launch, P T Kuppuswamy, chairman, KVB, said, "In India alone there are more than 27 million Visa credit and debit cards and we see this offers a good opportunity for generating fee-based income for the bank. Since the bank does not have a credit card, even our customers who own a Visa credit card issued by other banks can transact through our ATMs. The other advantage for us is that we can increase the usage, which will result in lower maintenance cost for our ATMs."

According to Gagan Maini, director, marketing and business development, South Asia, Visa International, "Visa is delighted to partner with Karur Vysya Bank and extend its network of over 13,000 Visa ATMs in India and close to one million ATMs worldwide."

Elaborating on the technology initiatives at the KVB, Kuppuswamy said, "The bank is fully computerised and nearly 96 per cent of the business is done under the core banking solution."

For FY 2005 Karur Vysya Bank has posted a profit of Rs105.34 crore as against Rs161.05 crore, the posted during FY 2004. The fall in profit is attributed to the depreciation suffered on the bank's investment portfolio owing to rise in interest rates.

The bank has constituted a 'Basel II implementation committee', which has been meeting frequently to take stock of the headway made for implementation of norms for complying with the requirements of Basel II.

On the performance targets, Kuppuswamy said, "The bank is targeting deposits of Rs8,000 crore and advances of Rs.5,500 crore by the end of FY 2005-06. The bank's strategy to mobilise low cost deposits and focus on retail financing will stand the Bank in good stead in maintaining a robust net interest margin".