Bhubaneswar, April 27: Debit cards have been issued to holders of postal savings accounts and the first postal automated teller machine (ATM) opened at the general post office (GPO) here today.

Customers can use the ATM to withdraw cash, obtain a mini-statement and check their account balance. At a time, one can take out a maximum of Rs 40,000 from the ATM.

The second postal ATM in the state was also inaugurated at the Cuttack GPO today. In Puri, the service will be launched on Thursday. Rourkela and Sambalpur will have the facility by the end of next week.

At present, debit cards can only be used at the postal ATMs. "Gradually, the facility to withdraw money from the ATMs of any bank would be available to the customers," said said Tilak De, chief postmaster general of Odisha Postal Circle.

"Our customers have been demanding ATM services for a long time. The system will let the customers avail easy access to their accounts and make the postal department technology-oriented," De said.

The ATM cards would be issued only from select post offices that are electronically connected via core banking solution (CBS.)

At present, there are 36 CBS post offices in the state.

"The facility is not profit-driven. Hence, customers can use of the facility for a nominal annual fee. Most of our customers are senior citizens and they will benefit from the service," said De.

"Thirty-nine more ATMs will be launched throughout the country by next year," said De. There are around 1.15 core savings account holders in 8,155 post offices.

Account holders are happy with the development.

"I can withdraw money without much hassle now," said 55-year-old Sulagna Mohanty, an account holder at a city post office.