ISLAMABAD: National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has recently installed the World's highest Auto Teller Machine (ATM) at Khunjrab Pass, near the Pak-China border at the altitude of 15,397 feet above sea level.
According to a press release issued here Thursday, the highest ATM was launched jointly by President and CEO Syed Iqbal Ashraf and Lt. General Malik Zafar Iqbal.
Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan Hafizur Rehman, Force Commander Gilgit- Baltistan Saqib Mahmud Malik and other officials of the bank and Civil Military officials were also present on the occasion.
The venue of newly world's highest ATM was on the route of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and would be helpful for growing needs of tourists in the area and the increasing business activities.
NBP has rolled out, within a span of just one year, the much delayed and long awaited implementation (since 2008) of its new core banking application "Profile" across its entire network. Aware of the importance of branchless banking and to serve its customers better, the management within the last 02 years completed the unprecedented expansion of its ATM network (both on-site & off-site) bringing the total ATMs from 375 to over 1,300. Total NBP ATM transactions have reached to 2.38 M in October 2016.
The world highest ATM (formally to be recognized by Guinness Book of records) of NBP installed at Khunjarab Pass (Pak-China Border - 15,397 feet above sea level) is the trademark of its commitment to provide banking services to the remotest locations. The bank's leadership vision for branch less banking is further complemented through its alliance with all of the country's telecos thereby expanding its network base from 1,409 branches to 150,000 telecos agents to meet the banking needs of its diverse clientele. SMS alert services, utility bill payment through ATMs, inter-bank funds transfer through ATM and 24/7 call center for un-interrupted services are also among the major achievements during the last 03 years.
The NBP, being the nation's bank, since its inception has been providing platform for government initiated programs and services.
The leadership recognizing its duty towards the populace has played a lead role in embarking on a number of Government to People (G2P) and People to Government (P2G) projects.
This includes disbursement to farmers under the Kissan package; flood affectees; Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) of KPK; Prime Minister Youth Training Scheme (PMYTS) and Prime Minister Youth Skill Development Program (PMYSDP). Besides, the bank has initiated various projects for digital collection of passport fees, traffic challans, excise & taxation payments etc., and is also utilizing technology for startup of various cash management projects with both private and public sector enterprises.
Further various other technology initiatives were taken towards automation of Government receipts and payments including pension payments by direct credit to pensioner account instead of payment over the counter.
NBP, materializing its mission of providing highest standards of services has established state of the art Complaint Management Wing and have upgraded its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system for improved service quality and reduced turnaround time for resolution of customer complaints.
The bank underscores high importance to un-interrupted services and promotes use of technology to serve its customers better. Hence, keeping in view the frequent power outages and to bring cost and operational efficiency to its operations the bank adopted use of clean and green solar energy for its branch operations. To date 105 ATMs and 30 branches have been converted to solar energy and conversion of further 200 branches is expected by the end of year.
Cognizant of the hazards of the present day banking and the threats it pose to the overall operations, the bank has implemented the transaction monitoring system and safe- watch list screening system to safeguard its compliance and control environment.
Besides, implementation of Kondor plus is also among the initiative that the bank has undertaken to strengthen its treasury and market risk management function.
Further, biometric technology has been adopted for account opening and payment to pensioners for their convenience.
Soon NBP is planning to introduce geographical information system (GIS) for network planning, debit / prepaid cards, mobile application, digital wallets and enhanced internet banking features for its customers.
All these technology driven initiatives will truly help NBP to serve the nation for banking needs of tomorrow.
Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2016
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