The Karnataka Gramin Bank (KGB) launched mobile ATMs to help farmers in rural areas understand banking schemes better and repay their loans on time through digitization. This initiative is already functional in Kalaburagi and also other districts in the state. The mobile ATM consists of a special vehicle that has an ATM to withdraw money and also a screen that shows various banking schemes to educate the farmers. 

These mobile ATMs are planned to go door-to-door and make farmers aware of their working. The vehicles will also have the bank staff deployed to help the users with the functioning.  “Our aim is to create awareness among the farmers regarding the bank schemes and how to use digital ATMs to repay their loans promptly,” Girish Hebbar, Regional Manager of Karnataka Gramin Bank was quoted by the ANI. 

Hebbar further said that the project was assisted by a Financial Inclusion Fund by the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Though this facility is not new to the country, the initiative by Karnataka Gramin Bank particularly aims to help farmers with digitization and make their banking easier. It is time that digitization takes over to work in favour of rural people and especially farmers as few villages lack the facility of banks and ATMs completely and people walk all the way to the other village to withdraw money. The farmers are unaware of banking schemes which often result in the delay in their loan payments. 

India’s very first mobile ATM was launched in 2002 by ICICI bank in Mumbai to maximize the convenience of its customers. Post that, rampant use of the mobile ATMs in India was seen in 2016 during demonetization. As the ATMs were flocked by people, banks like State Bank of India, Canara Bank, Dena Bank, and Punjab National Bank launched mobile ATMs then to facilitate transactions.

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