Speaking on the occasion, Shri Shenoy said that the Bank has opened 7 new ATMs in the district covering remote rural branches also. With this, all our customers wherever they are located can draw cash round the clock. The Bank is issuing ATM cards free of cost to all our customers. In addition to the existing 760 ATMs, in an effort to provide ATMs in all the branches located in the identified 51 districts, the Bank has set up new ATMs in 37 locations and is going to install 42 more ATMs shortly. He also informed that the Bank has also been issuing ATM enabled Kisan Cards to farmers to enable them to draw cash from ATMs / to purchase agricultural inputs from merchant establishments. The Bank has also appointed Business Correspondents under Financial Inclusion Programme to provide banking services to the villagers at their door step through Hand Held Machines.
Explaining the Bank’s initiative in the Direct Cash Transfer programme, he said that the Bank has taken the lead in covering all the households in its allotted villages / wards in Tumkur district, by opening about 12000 accounts, through door to door house hold surveys. Besides, branches have also actively participated in the account opening / Aadhaar enrolment camps organized by the Govt. departments for opening bank accounts for beneficiaries under various Govt programmes. These steps have been taken by the Bank in the allotted villages / wards in all the identified districts, which benefit the common man to get the Govt benefits like scholarship for students, Social Security Pensions like Old Age / Widow / Disabled Pension, benefits under various Women Welfare programmes, NREGP etc., directly credited to their bank accounts under Direct Cash /Benefit Transfer Programme of the Government.
Shri Shenoy, further said that the Bank has been actively involved in the Financial Inclusion Plan and covered all the allotted villages with “above 2000 population” in March 2012 itself and opened 377 Ultra Small Branches. During the current year, the Bank is bringing “below 2000 population “villages also under Financial Inclusion Programme.
He also said that Vijaya Bank , being a Bank founded by a group of farmers in the year 1931 in Mangalore, has been on the forefront in agricultural and rural lending right from its inception, and therefore gives special thrust on agricultural credit and SHG linkage.
