The ATM has been offering auxillary facilities to customers other than cash dispensing function since quite some time now. To add to the list of these auxillary activities has come up the function of weight measurement through ATMs too.

The facility has been installed by private sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank. It is a height and weight measurement device.

Mr Raghu Vishwanath, Managing Director, Vertebrand Consulting says, "Point-of-sale communication, in this case, the ATM, is extremely cost-effective for smaller banks to tap the next generation, for whom the ATM is a habit."

Mr P.R. Somasundaram, Managing Director and CEO, Lakshmi Vilas Bank, speaks on the BMI ( body mass index) measurement apparatus being installed in ATMs saying that, "We propose to introduce the BMI feature in at least 40-50 ATMs in urban locations. And we are also looking at introducing railway and airline ticketing kiosks."

"To what extent banks want to combine value-added services with the core function depends on their size and the extent of ATM penetration. In the case of banks with high transacting ATMs, it is a good idea to provide value-added services at another kiosk within the ATM premises to avoid the build-up of queues at the ATM," says Mr Sunil Nair, Managing Director, Euronet Services.

Euronet offers ATM services to more than 45000 ATMs pan India.