Merriam Blomquist is all set for a trek to the Nubra Valley in Ladakh. The guides, food supplies, tents, the equipment et al, all cost loads of money. Blomquist, however, managed to make payments using her credit card in a bone-chilling cold desert, which doesn't even have an all-weather road link. This time around, she never bothered to lug along to India a small daypack full of travelers' checks and Euros all the way from Sweden. Something she did two years back, when she went trekking in the Zanskar valley. This time, she knows that the new ATMs in Leh will let her withdraw money easily and with far lesser transaction fees. So, it's goodbye to middlemen, hawala dealers, and heavy money belts.

German Job Kohl had visited Ladakh three years ago. When he has needed Rs 20,000 to pay for a trek, he went to Mohinder Kapur, a shopkeeper with a credit card POS. Kapur dialed STD to connect with the Master Card server in Chandigarh, swiped Kohl's credit card, registered a sale of Rs 24,000, and paid Kohl Rs 20,000. Charging a 20 percent for the services. Convenient, but expensive. This year, Kohl simply made a few trips to the ATM in Leh and paid only a three percent service charge for the transaction, when he and his friends needed Rs 40,000 to go trekking in the Zanskar Valley. Convenient and economical.

This ATM is used all year round at 11,500 feet, even in sub –20º C

Kapur is still in business, but the two ATMs have affected his trade. Between SBI and J&K Bank, Visa and Master Card holders can withdraw money easily. Of course, if they need large amounts of money instantly (more than the daily cash limit at ATMs), or when the ATMs are down, they still go to the likes of Kapur.

ATMs in Leh were initially meant for the armed forces. Captain Chikara's orderly no longer waits in line to encash his captain's checks. For the Ladakhis however, the nationwide ATM networks of the two banks are as important as ATMs in Leh, especially for those whose children are studying in other parts of the country. They simply deposit money into their children's account in Leh. Their kids can withdraw the money a few minutes later from places as far as Bangalore.

RN Thakur, from Bihar, has been running a barbershop in Leh for 20 years. When he returns to Leh for the tourist season, he no longer carries a bag of cash. He simply uses his ATM card issued by his bank in Bihar to withdraw money.

Ladakhi businessmen have also benefitted. Hotelier Delhex goes to 'down' areas in winters to make bookings and finalize accounts with the agents there. The nationwide ATM network enables him to travel further and longer than he did earlier. And in winters, Ladakhis are no longer constrained by the shortened working hours of banks. The ATMs work even when the banks and the bankers don't.

Of course, to keep the ATMs working in the winter is more than a simple task in a town that has electricity supply only for a few hours in the evening. The nearest ATM serviceman is at least three days away by road (summer only), or
Rs 15,000 by air. The J&K Bank ATM uses a solar panel array to charge its UPS backup. Recently, the SBI ATM's UPS conked off. It is yet to be repaired. It now runs off the bank's much smaller UPS for two hours after the town powerhouse shuts at 11 pm. One has to then wait till the next morning for the bank to open.

The severe winter here brings with it the risk of currency notes sticking together in the sub -20º C. To prevent this, the bank staff opens the ATM at least once a day and ruffles all the notes so as to prevent any windfall for customers and losses for the banks. And the ATMs continue to serve their purpose-providing 365-day liquidity in a land where water remains frozen for six months in a year!

Alok Singh