Turkish Garanti Bank operates 200 smart ATMs across Romania following a strong push in retail segment and the adoption of new technologies, a process started two years ago. Since then, the number of ATMs has doubled.
The lender says the most frequent ATM transactions include cash withdrawal, bill payments without card, payments for credit cards and bank deposits. Payments using cash deposits and foreign exchange operations are also becoming popular.
“We intend to increase our national presence through smart ATMs, as we want anyone, not just our clients, to use them for any operation, ranging from credit recharging on mobile phones to mobile phone bill payments,” said Murat Atay, CEO Garanti Group.
Ilker Ozdemir, director for alternative distribution & transactions channels, says transactions without cards should become the most frequent operations in the next 5 years at ATMs. Ozdmeir says Garanti will use the same strategy in Romania which made the lender competitive in Turkey.
Garanti Bank has 77 banking units across Romania, 200 ATMs and 7,340 POS terminals.
The bank is part of the Garanti Group, which is owned by Turkyie Garanti Bankasi, Turkey’s second bank after asset value.
Garanti Group reported a net profit of EUR 8.3 million last year in Romania. The group comprises of a bank, a leasing company, a consumer credit provider and a mortgage credit company.
Ovidiu Posirca