Regional banks in Japan, mostly operating in the rural and semi-urban areas are planning to use ATMs mounted on vehicles to cater mainly to elderly people living in areas with no ATMs. Shimane Shinkin Bank in the western prefecture of Shimane plans to introduce an ATM van soon. Using the vehicle, the bank plans to visit schools, community centers, nursing facilities and other locations to offer banking services. The ATM van will offer deposit, withdrawal and payment services. Passbook updates, a service that ATMs in convenience stores do not provide, will also be available. At present, many elderly customers still use passbooks instead of cash cards and usually workers from regional banks visit the houses of such customers, bring back their passbooks to update them and return them to the customers. A mobile ATM with passbook update functions can save bank employees from such duties. The ATM van has been developed by Oki Electric Industry Co, which said the vehicle can access mountainous areas with narrow roads. The ATM van costs some ¥10 million per unit, about one-fifth of the figure for a larger truck-type.
