Citigroup Plans Thumbprint ATMs For India's Poor

Posted by kdawson on Saturday December 2, 2006 @10:16AM from the beware-of-gummi-bears dept.

Brad Lucier points out a Financial Times report (carried by MSN Money) that Citigroup is rolling out a network of biometric ATMs aimed at illiterate Indian slum dwellers. From the article: "The machines will recognize account holders' thumbprints, eliminating the need for a personal identification number, and will have color-coded screen instructions and voiceovers to help guide them through transactions... Though India's population exceeds 1 billion, Citigroup estimates that there are only about 300 million bank accounts in the country... 'It's not a philanthropic exercise,' [PS Jayakumar, a Citigroup business manager in India] said. 'For it to be sustainable, we should break even and make a little bit of money.'"

2 of 123 comments (clear)

Give a man a fire by Dachannien · 2006-12-02 11:10 · Score: 1, Troll

Maybe while they're at it, they could teach the user to read a new word with every use.
Re:Numbers by jrumney · 2006-12-02 11:28 · Score: 0, Troll

In most countries money is both size and color coded for reasons of convenience. The fact that the US uses bills that are all the same color and size has nothing to do with literacy, and everything to do with being luddites that don't want to get with the times.