Largest Romanian lender BCR has invested EUR 2 million in expanding the self service concept with 400 machines which allow cash withdrawal and deposit, as well as fast bill payment via barcode scanning. The duration of a banking operation will be trimmed down from four minutes to less than 40 seconds, according to the bank.

So far, the bank has seen fifty:fifty use for paying bills and making payments to loans or to the current account. The bank estimated that some 500,000 transactions will be made at the self service machines by the end of the year. “We are convinced that in short time, at least half of the transactions will be made though the new equipment,” said Bogdan Marin, executive director for retail with BCR.

BCR currently has 640 Cash In machines – out of which 400 are for automated payments, 70 are multifunctional machines and 167 are currency exchange machines. The bank also has 2,500 cash out machines installed.

BCR launched last week the first bank unit equipped with such machines, in Bucharest, at its branch on Calea Victoriei. The branch also includes an area where consultants can offer information about products and services, but all the cash operations are automated. We wrote about it here.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: BCR)