Prasac to install 30 ATMs

 Cambodia’s largest microfinance institution by outstanding loans, will install 30 ATMs across the Kingdom, 15 in Phnom Penh and another 15 in the provinces, general manager Sim Senacheert said yesterday.

The ATMs will be installed for use by the end of July or early August. 

The decision to install the ATMs was influenced by a rise in deposits from US$17 million to $18 million and ongoing complaints about the lack of access to the money on a weekend, he said.

Prasac plans to become a licensed commercial bank in the Kingdom, company officials told the Post in early March, targeting a launch date in 2013 or 2014. 

Acleda president and CEO In Channy said he expected Prasac’s transition to be much smoother than that of his firm’s given consumers’ growing sophistication with financial services.

The number of ATMs in Cambodia increased from approximately 500 at the end of 2011 to the current 613 nationwide, said Nhoun Sokha, General Director of the National Bank of Cambodia.

Acleda, the largest local bank, turned from being a micro-finance institution to a commercial bank in 2001 and currently operates the largest number of ATMs in the Kingdom. Over half a million ATM cards have been issued by Acleda to its customers, said executive director Sok Sophea. 

Acleda operates 57 ATMs in Phnom Penh and 77 in the provinces. Fifty-six per cent of ATM cards have been issued in Phnom Penh and 44 per cent in provinces, she said.

“We issued most cards in Phnom Penh because people in Phnom Penh often have more knowledge of ATMs. The number of ATM-using customers in the provinces is also increasing,” she added.