Micro-Banking Terminal

Financial Inclusion (the delivery of banking services at affordable costs to low income groups) has long been a challenge in India, where bank transactions are mainly urban based and people living in rural areas rarely even have a bank account. One of the biggest challenges in the microbanking industry is the huge amount of paperwork and human effort traditionally involved in supporting micro-transactions and credit-scoring potential customers. High costs coupled with low returns did not make microfinance viable beyond a certain threshold, thus hampering growth. Atom Technologies set out to change that by developing a micro-banking platform that pairs with a mobile phone, as a point of transaction device for true door-step banking.

The Atom Sewa, which works with different card types issued by the banks, was designed to be rugged and portable. Colours are chosen to make it feel unobtrusive as well.The terminal is slung across the chest by the banking agent who is typically motorcycle borne. Upon reaching the customer premises, he uses his mobile phone to activate the banking software. The customer is authenticated by his swipe/smart card coupled with the on board finger print scanner. Post transaction via RF, the customer receives a record in the form a printout using the terminals thermal printer.