In a first, an automated teller machine (ATM) dispenses gold coins rather than the usual cash in Hyderabad. Goldsikka launched the Gold ATM with support from Hyderabad-based startup, Opencube Technologies.
People can withdraw gold coins up to 5 kgs just by inserting their debit or credit card into the ATM. Other than this there are eight available options for the quantity of gold from 0.5 10 100 grams. This unique ATM machine was launched on December 3. This is India's first as well as the world's first real-time Gold ATM.
The Vice President of Goldsikka Pratap said, "Goldsikka Limited is a company incorporated 4 years back. We are into bullion trading. Our CEO got an innovative concept of dispensing gold coins through an ATM machine. After doing a bit of research, we found out that it is possible. We tied up with a start-up company, OpenCube technologies. They and our in-house department which gave design and development support with respect to technology."
"Each ATM has a capacity of holding upto 5kgs of gold which is worth around Rs.2-3 crores. The ATM machine dispenses coins ranging from 0.5 grams to 100 grams. There are 8 available options, including 0.5 grams, 1 gram, 2 grams, 5 grams, 10 grams, 20 grams, 50 grams and 100 grams. People can come here and get the coins directly instead of going to jewellery shops. These coins are 24-carat gold and 999 certified. The customers will get their investment returns at a live price without any wastage. The important feature of the ATM is prices are updated live. We take the London bullion market as our market year. The prices there are updated and displayed on the screen and so are the taxes. Today, we had a footfall of around 20 people till the afternoon. We are hoping that more people would use this," he said.
He added, "We are planning the next 3-4 machines in Hyderabad at the airport, old city, Ameerpet and Kukatpally. We also received orders from Karimnagar and Warangal. We are focusing on Telangana first as there is already the concept of Bangaru Telangana. We will further move to South India and set up around 3,000 ATMs across the country over a period of time. We are also planning to go global. We will also come up with a version 2 of this machine."
On the safety features of the ATM he said that the ATM has a built-in camera and sound alarm system."We have already taken care of the required security measures as other ATMs. The ATM has a built-in camera and sound alarm system, which will trigger if there someone tries to tamper with it. We have 3 external CCTV cameras and we are also getting tied up with local police stations," he added.
On what if the gold is not dispensed once the amount is debited, he said, "It happens with any kind of transaction. Generally one will get back the money within 24 hours if the transaction gets failed. We also have dedicated customer support for any queries."Hafsa Taruj, one of the directors of Goldsikka, said, "Goldsikka Gold ATM is very feasible and convenient for the common man as they do not need to go to jewellery showrooms hesitantly for minute quantities of gold. The coins in our ATM range from 0.5gm to 100gm. We are also planning further to install these of ATMs at airports."
(With inputs from ANI)
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