Bangalore: Canara Bank has introduced a voice-enabled biometric ATM for the rural segment to have access to banking facilities. The bank has launched a smart card with ATM facility, and a mobile ATM facility at Devanahally, on the outskirts of Bangalore.

Usha Thorat, RBI Deputy Governor inaugurated the technology initiatives in the company of Chairman and MD of Canara Bank, M B N Rao and Regional Director for Karnataka RBI, Devaki Muthukrishnan.

Mr. Rao told that the mobile ATM was planned for offering up ATM facility to the clients in the rural areas, and plans were on to launch nine more such mobile ATMs in the next few months.

Aside from the ATM facility, the mobile van has a customer lobby with full information on the bank’s different products. Each mobile ATM is powered by a hand-held tool to capture finger impressions and RFID-enabled smart cards. The clients’ finger print can be captured either at the branch or at their homes, registered via a CDMA phone and afterward stored in the biometric server.

The transaction is attested by the customer’s fingerprint in place of a PIN, and a taped voice system guides him/her through the process, in a regional language.

The system allows illiterate customer to verify their balance and withdraw cash from their accounts. The clients can transact in other arms where Canara Bank’s biometric ATMs have been set up, presently in five states.