Canara Bank opens its first ultra-small branch in TN

Canara Bank opened its first ultra-small branch in the State and second in the country, at Oorseri Panchayat near Alanganallur, near here, recently.

Linked with Core Banking Solution through a virtual private network, the branch, staffed by a Business Correspondent, would be open on all seven days in the week. All account holders are to be issued with smart cards and deposits and disbursals with an upper limit of Rs 2,000 would be facilitated, besides linkage of loan applications to the parent branch. The first branch has been opened at Aralumallige in Karnataka.

According to Mr K. Lakshmipathikumar, Deputy General Manager, the concept has been introduced to cover villages with a population between 1,000 and 2,000, under the financial inclusion programme. An officer from the parent Alanganallur branch would visit the ultra branch once a week and monitor the functioning of the Business Correspondent.