The automated teller machine (ATM) network of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon achieved a milestone this week with the commissioning of its 700th ATM terminal at MAS Intimates Vidiyal in Kilinochchi.
The event followed the commissioning of two other Commercial Bank ATMs at AIA Insurance’s Corporate Office in Colombo and at the Laugfs ‘Indhana’ theme park at Bandaragama, taking the network from 697 to 700 terminals.
The Commercial Bank ATM network is the largest owned by a private bank in Sri Lanka, and has over the years set and rewritten many records for cash dispensed during times of national celebrations such as the Sinhala and Tamil New Year and Christmas.
In the first 14 days of April this year for example, the Bank’s ATM network, then comprising of 658 terminals, dispensed a mammoth Rs 23.9 billion in cash.
By mid-2016 the Bank had completed the upgrade of the network to EMV Chip capability, significantly enhancing security against fraud by conforming to the EMV standards of the various card brands that it accepts. As a result, every Commercial Bank ATM now accepts and processes transactions based on Smart Card Integrated Circuit (IC) data as well as magnetic strip data.
Over 20% of the Bank’s ATMs are located outside the vicinity of its branches covering places such as industrial zones, railway stations, central bus stands, apartment complexes, shopping malls and large scale factories enhancing access for customers and non customers alike.
In addition to facilitating withdrawals, the Bank’s ATM machines enable convenient settlement of water and electricity bills, bills of Dialog, Mobitel, Etisalat, Hutch and Lanka Bell networks, and Commercial Bank Credit Card payments 24-hours a day, 365-days of the year. The Bank’s network of teller machines is linked with millions of ATMs across the world.
Commercial Bank ATMs also support the networks of Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus, Visa, Plus, Amex, UnionPay, Discover and Diner’s Club thus enabling tourists and other visitors to Sri Lanka to withdraw money from their overseas accounts for spending in the country.
The Bank’s 600th ATM was located at the Colombo Gold Centre, the 500that the Maradana Railway Station and the 400th at the Bank’s Ruwanwella branch.
Holders of Commercial Bank’s standard ATM cum Debit Cards and can withdraw up to Rs 100,000 from the Bank’s ATMs per day and have a point-of-sale usage limit of up to Rs 200,000 per day. Customers can also request to set up different withdrawal and purchase limits fitting their own spending patterns, the Bank said.
Commercial Bank is the only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the Top 1000 banks of the world for seven years consecutively, and operates a network of 256 branches in Sri Lanka. The Bank has won more than 25 international and local awards in 2016 and 2017 and has over the years received multiple awards as Sri Lanka’s Best Bank, Best Trade Bank, Strongest Bank and Most Respected Bank from a number of local and international institutions and publications.
Commercial Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets, Myanmar, where it has a Representative Office in Yangon, the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake and Italy, where the Bank operates its own money transfer service.