Hattha Kaksekar Ltd, a local microfinance institution, has invested almost US$2 million in a new ATM network, the company announced yesterday.

Hattha Kaksekar now has around $32 million in deposits and will become the first financial institution to use SmartVista, an automated ATM process which also allows repayment from mobile phones, said Hout Ieng Tong, President and CEO of Hattha Kaksekar.

Thirteen ATMs will be installed in Phnom Penh and some provinces including Siem Reap, Preah Sihanouk and Kampong Cham, he said.

The ATMs were acquired from BPC Banking Technology.

???

Hattha Kaksekar is their first client in Cambodia, said Naltoly Loginov, chairman and CEO of BPC Technology.

PRASAC Microfinance Institution will install 30 ATMs in Phnom Penh and some provinces in August, the Post reported earlier this year.

“I dare to say in Cambodia all the commercial banks have no such machines yet,” Hout Ieng Tong said.

The installation of ATMs could be a factor in attracting new clients, said Bun Mony, president and CEO of Sathapana Microfinance Institution.

Sathapana Microfinance Institution will not install ATMs in the near future because up to 70 per cent of their clients are located in rural areas and are not yet familiar with ATM technology. ?

“We don’t think about it because it is not urgent for ATMs. I think ATMs are popular in urban areas due to higher knowledge,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rann Reuy at [email protected]