One need not spend any more sleepless nights over the family
jewellery brought home ahead of a marriage celebration or a party. Now, you can wear them at a 24x7 locker available at a bank branch in the vicinity, participate in the marriage celebrations, return your wares to the locker and go home, safely locking away your worries.
The premier public sector bank,
IDBI Bank, has unveiled this concept of a 24x7 locker facility, at the prime location of Cuffe Parade, Mumbai, where the bank's head office is located. IDBI claims this facility to be the first such in the world. The bank plans to make this facility available in the other three metros soon before entering other cities.
Launching the facility, RM Malla, chairman and managing director (CMD) of the bank, said, "One can access the best-in-class lockers anytime they want through biometric access. Once he/she enters, the bank staff will be available for service. Besides the great ambience, there is a dressing room available to the customer". So far, locker facilities are available only during business hours of the bank or branch. The users have to take their valuables, particularly jewellery during business hours and keep them at home till the locker facility is available again. This involves the risk of loss or theft. The same is the case with important documents.
"Lockers are available in different sizes, carrying an annual fee ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 40,000. Given gold prices are hovering above Rs 22,000 per sovereign (10 grams) even individual customers may not feel it is too high," Malla added.
The facility would also cater to the corporate sector, businessmen and other banks too, besides individuals for activities like safekeeping of legal and other documents.
These lockers are also bigger than those available at bank branches, usually.
Some companies transfer their day's transactions into compact discs (CDs) and keep these at a safe place away from the office as a backup or disaster management mechanism. While banks or branches close much ahead of other corporates, the round-the-clock facilities like this one would prove to be more useful and safer than the private lockers available now.
It will also help other banks and financial firms dealing in safekeeping of gold and other valuables.
As part of the customer-centric approach, the bank had done away with various charges on savings and current account customers, last year.
Courtesy: Mail Today