New Delhi. 22 January 2017. INS Vikramaditya India’s pride in the Blue Waters has a new acquisition – an ATM machine installed onboard by the State Bank of India.

The one-of-a-kind ATM machine was inaugurated onboard at a function at the Naval Base Karwar on 21 Jan 17, jointly by Rear Admiral KJ Kumar, Flag Officer Commanding, Karnataka Naval Area and Shri Rajnish Kumar, Managing Director and Group Executive (National Banking Group), State Bank of India.

The Indian Navy has a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Bank of India that operates Defence Salary Packages. This joint venture between India’s largest warship and largest banking network is a significant step towards cementing the partnership between the Navy and the bank further, underlines the mutually supportive relations the two organisations share.

The facilities offered by the State Bank of India to the ship include cash withdrawals, generation of mini-statements, access to bank balance details and change of PIN numbers. In the near future, the facility will be upgraded to a recycler machine with a cash deposit facility. Additionally, facilities like cash transfer, Card-to-Card transfer, Credit Card payment, mobile number registration and updation would also be available.

The ATM machine is a unique floating banking system, and along with the Point of Sale machine that is also proposed to be installed onboard, would go a long way in supporting cashless transactions on the ship, in line with the government’s policy of digitising the India economy.