Urban cooperative banks in Erode to be computer-linked soon

Karthik Madhavan

ERODE: More than 1.5 lakh account holders of urban cooperative banks in the district will soon get better and quicker service. The five banks with seven branches are being computerised.

Informed sources in the Cooperative Department here say Erode, Bhavani, Chennimalai, Gobichettipalayam and Sathyamangalam banks are in the process of computerising records, which are being verified by the software service provider.

Once the verification process is complete the data would be fed into computers at the head offices of the five banks. The systems will be networked with the seven branches.

The computers have been installed and networking is under way. The process is expected to be completed by February.

Once things are in place, the sources say, for customers operating their accounts, availing loans or making deposits will become quicker and easier. The processing time will come down.

For the computerisation process, the banks have spent Rs. 67 lakh in hardware and more to train employees.

The sources say this is only the first part of the process.

Once the networking is done, the proposal is to link all urban banks in the State to offer core banking solutions to account-holders.

This means, for instance, that account holders of the Erode urban bank would be able to operate their account from anywhere in Tamil Nadu. Installation of automatic teller machines (ATMs) is on the cards.

The Department is also focussing on giving a facelift to banks.

In a letter to senior department officers and bank heads, the Registrar of Cooperative Societies has said they shall provide better seating facilities to customers, install flex boards outside banks, improve lighting, repaint walls, repair furniture and give bank premises a modern appearance.

For this, he has asked the officers concerned to allot Rs. 50,000 to be spent at the bank managers’ discretion.

The sources say the aim is to bring the cooperative urban banks on a par with private and public sector banks, in terms of both service and infrastructure.

courtesy : the hindu