Canadia Bank Limited says it will launch Cambodia's first network of automatic teller
machines (ATMs) with access to international financial institutions by late 2004.
This will allow anyone with a card account at a linked overseas bank to withdraw
money.
The plan will at last bring to Cambodia a financial service taken for granted in
developed countries around the world.
At the moment, transferring money through banks or sending money through companies
such as Western Union are the primary ways to receive cash from overseas in Cambodia.
But Canadia Bank's IT manager, Au Siek Kheang, said his company wants to provide
more services to its clients and cater to new businesses entering the country every
year.
"There are a lot of foreigners coming; little by little, they will increase
businesses," he said.
Canadia Bank introduced a domestic ATM network in 1999. The machines, mounted in
the walls of the bank's branch offices, only access bank accounts at Canadia Bank.
The new machines, with the slide of a credit card, will perform all the typical functions
of an ATM such as verifying account balances and withdrawing money from almost anywhere
in the world.
Officials at the Ministry of Commerce said Canadia Bank said they had recognized
a promising business opportunity.
"This is a logical step," said Khek Ravy, secretary of state at the ministry.
"They will make more business this way."
Canadia Bank plans to have ten ATM machines ready for credit card use by next year.
Four will be in bank branches and the rest are intended for commercial centers, hotels,
and the Phnom Penh International Airport. Canadia Bank already offers a MasterCard
credit card and is in the process of making a Visa card which will come out early
in 2004.
The bank claims it has 30,000 clients from China, Taiwan, and Singapore, although
the majority are based in Cambodia. It has about 1,000 debit cardholders in Cambodia
as well.
The ATMs will be made in England, but the software will be purchased from Vietnam.
For now, Vietnam will be the exclusive provider of the ATM system since it has access
to international financial networks.
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