Most automatic teller machine cardholders in Oman can now use any of the more than 1,000 ATMs in the UAE and vice-versa, said the Gulf News Thursday.
Top banking industry sources confirmed that the ATM switch networks of the UAE and Oman had been linked, but an official announcement is awaited from the Omani and UAE central banks.
The link-up involves the exchange settlement mechanism between the two respective central banks, and hence calls for sophisticated system support at both ends, said the daily.
Even prior to the central banks' link between Oman and the UAE, limited cross-border transactions were possible with the ATM cards of the same bank switch in both countries.
For instance, explained the paper, an ATM cardholder of the National Bank of Oman (NBO) could have withdrawn cash from an ATM of HSBC in Dubai because HSBC is a member of the Al Watani switch in Oman as is NBO.
Moreover, ATM cards of HSBC or Standard Chartered could be used at any of their ATMs in the Gulf.
There is already a committee comprising members of all six Gulf Cooperation Council central banks in order to expedite the linking of ATMs, it added – Albawaba.com
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