HDFC Bank is rolling out handheld machines across the country that can enable customers in rural areas to carry out most banking transactions enabled by an ATM, reports TOI. The device was launched nearly a year ago in rural areas, where the bank claims to see transactions aggregating to about Rs 1 crore monthly through about 1550 of these ‘micro ATMs’. The device is capable of using a user's Aadhaar number and fingerprint verification for eKYC verification, which it does by connecting to UIDAI servers. The device lets users withdraw or deposit cash, get account statements, get pre-approved loans and other such back functions. The bank mentions that it is currently also in the process of integrating pension payments for the Tamil Nadu government. Other than this, HDFC Bank mentions that the machines can be used in rural areas for payments to pensioners and direct benefit transfers under MGNREGA. In urban areas, the device will be located in bank branches to help ease pressure during crowded times. However, it’s not clear how many micro ATMs the bank plans to roll out in the cities, or even in rural areas. HDFC’s mobile payments: In February, multi-bank mobile banking app Chillr, tied up with HDFC Bank to both send and receive money over its platform. According to the startup, the app would remove OTP requirements and the need to remember account number and passwords for HDFC Bank users. The bank was also pushing its customers to adopt mobile banking and recently improved…
