SRINAGAR: JK Bank on Wednesday revealed a strategic partnership with Paymart India Pvt Ltd to launch an innovative Virtual ATM (VATM) facility.
This collaboration aims to elevate banking convenience for customers across its operational regions, particularly in JK and Ladakh. The initiative seeks to introduce card-less cash withdrawal for the Bank’s customers through local merchants in their neighbourhoods.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was formalised in a signing ceremony chaired by the Bank’s MD & CEO, Baldev Prakash. CEO Amit Narang signed the MoU on behalf of Paymart India Pvt Ltd, while General Manager Imtiyaz Ahmad Bhat put his signature during the event, which was also attended by the Bank’s General Managers Ashutosh Sareen and Narjay Gupta, DGM Muzaffar Wani, and Director Paymart India Pvt Ltd Jyoti Narang, besides other senior executives of both organizations.
Expressing delight about the partnership, MD & CEO Baldev Prakash said, “This partnership aims to empower JK Bank customers with seamless access to cash withdrawal services through the mobile banking application, mpay Delight plus. It marks a significant step forward in J&K Bank’s commitment to leverage technology to enhance banking accessibility and convenience for its valuable customers.”
“Since Virtual ATMs represent the future of banking, this partnership with Paymart India underscores our commitment to staying ahead of the curve in providing innovative solutions for our customers,” he added.
MD & CEO further stated, “As we embrace this technology, we foresee the role of virtual ATMs in enhancing financial inclusion by going beyond cash withdrawals to encompass digital lending. Moreover, reaffirming our dedication to serving communities with convenience and accessibility, we are exploring avenues to extend this facility to our Banking Correspondents.”
Commenting on the collaboration, CEO Amit Narang stated, “With a plan to enter the JK market, J&K Bank was the best choice we had for a tie-up. Through this partnership, basic cash requirements of people will be catered to, particularly in rural areas where ATMs are not available and people need to travel long distances to bank branches.”
Speaking on the occasion, General Manager (S&IT) Imtiyaz Ahmad Bhat remarked, “We always strive for convenience for our customers. With this tie-up with Paymart, our customers have cash withdrawal facility virtually at their doorsteps. They wouldn’t have to search for ATMs and travel long distances to Bank branches/ATMs. So they will have the convenience of cash withdrawal while shopping itself.”
In this facility, the customer’s smartphone with the Bank’s mobile application is the Virtual Card and Merchant’s smartphone is the Virtual ATM, and upon initiating a cash withdrawal request, customers will receive an OTP for validation, which they can share with the agent or merchant. Once validated, cash will be dispensed to the customer, providing a hassle-free banking experience.
Notably, the VATM facility will enable customers to withdraw up to Rs 2000 cash per transaction and a total of Rs 10,000 per month.