These 4 Indian Banks Have Set up Mobile ATMs & Joining Hands with Them is This Opportunist Company This Indian Company Shows How To Finds a Corporate Opportunity in Public Crisis

By Aashika Jain

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetization measure, which has scrapped INR 500 & INR 1000 currency notes from the economy, is opening doors for many companies to take mileage from the business opportunity that arises from the situation.

Thousands of cash-starved Indians have been queuing up bank ATMs since the measure was announced. In this time of cash crunch, many banks have started their own mobile ATM bank services for the ease of customers.

The State Bank of India rolled out nearly 840 mobile ATMs, which are mainly making rounds of hospitals, fruit and vegetable markets and old- age homes

Canara Bank dispersed one mobile ATM to the rural districts of Karnataka. The bank earlier this month said that it was looking to launch few more vans that will be exclusively targeted at the people in the tier II cities where there are no ATMs.

Soon after Modi's announcement, Punjab National Bank set up a mobile ATM near the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi to cater to consumers who need

A similar mobile ATM van was set up in Mumbai by the bank.

Dena Bank launched its first mobile ATM van on last week and promised to launch more such vans to facilitate consumers.

Andhra Bank plans on launching mobile ATMs shortly.

Catering to demands for setting up more mobile ATMs across the country, India's top tax-hailing app, Ola, has found a business opportunity in this moment of public crisis.

The company has partnered with PNB in Kolkata and with SBI and Andhra Bank for Hyderabad to ease cash crunch. With the help of Ola, consumers will be able to withdraw cash by swiping debit cards at select Ola Cabs.

With banks and ATMs not being able to cope with the rush for access to lower denomination or new currency after old INR 500 and INR 1,000 notes were banned, cash dispensing through swipe of debit cards at point-of-sale (PoS) machines was introduced at around 3,700 petrol pumps.

Ola taxis with a bank officer and PoS machines are parked at different locations in Kolkata and Hyderabad to dispense cash of INR 2,000 per card.

Ola chief operating officer Pranay Jivrajka told PTI that the initial response has been tremendous and the company was exploring with banks to expand this service to other cities with cash being dispensed on the go rather than current experiment of cars being parked at a particular busy point.

"The week-long activity, that is already servicing thousands of citizens, will continue till end of the month. It (cabs) will visit areas like Chandni Chowk metro station, Esplanade metro, Barabazaar, Salt Lake, Exide and Rashbehari (in Kolkata)," he said.

The company intends to flag off the in other cities, including Delhi.

Ola, which has a mobile wallet service also, claimed it has seen 1500 percent growth in recharge of "Ola Money'.

Aashika Jain

Entrepreneur Staff

Former Associate Editor, Entrepreneur India

Journalist in the making since 2006! My fastest fingers have worked for India's business news channel CNBC-TV18, global news wire Thomson Reuters, the digital arm of India’s biggest newspaper The Economic Times and Entrepreneur India as the Digital Head. 
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