Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (NR)
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
 
Mangalore, Feb 16: For the convenience of the general public here, Corporation Bank at its Car street branch has opened the first coin vending machine of the city on Friday February 15. The machine has an in-built facility to insert a currency note in a similar manner to that of an ATM card.
 
With a mere press of a button on the machine, it downloads two types of coins from among the denominations of Rs 1, Rs 2 and Rs 5. There are in fact two reservoir hoppers in the machine which can store coins of these three denominations. The vending machine also accepts currency notes in the denominations of Rs 10, Rs 50 and Rs 100. Moreover, the machine has the facility to distinguish between a fake note and a genuine one as well.   
After the inaugural ceremony general manager of the bank B R Bhat, in the course of his speech informed that the bank had installed the machine to help senior citizens and individuals.  He further stated that it was a free service, with the bank not charging any money for using the machine. This service is available during the business hours of the branch, he added.

Further, he informed that the machine was worth around Rs 3 lac, and that it was installed at the bank's Car Street branch on an experimental basis. If proven successful they would extend the facility to other branches as well. We have plans to set up such machine in a village, he averred.
 
Pointing out that there was widespread demand for the same, he said there was a demand to set up such a machine from business community too. With regard to wholesalers, he said the bank organizes special coin distribution in bulk on specified days. Moreover he said this was the first time such a machine was installed by any bank in the city and its surroundings. 
 
N R Shet, general manager of the bank and Kumble Narasimha Prabhu, president of the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry were also present on the occasion.