Smart ATM offers Cardless Cash Withdrawal to Avoid Card Skimmers

Banks have tried every effort, from providing Magnetic Stripes based Credit and Debit Cards to Chip-and-Pin Cards, in order to secure its users from credit card cloning and card Skimmers.

It has been known from years that Magnetic stripe are incredibly hackable, but Chip-n-Pin cards have also been hacked and successfully cloned by a group of security researchers.

A unit of Canada’s Bank of Montreal, BMO Harris Bank is launching the U.S.’s biggest cardless ATM network that allows its customers to withdraw cash within seconds, using nothing but their smartphones.

NO CARD, NO PIN, JUST YOUR SMARTPHONE

According to the bank, there is no need to enter PIN and instead of swiping the card, customers have to sign into mobile banking app "Mobile Cash", hold their smartphones over the QR code on the ATM screen and the cash gets delivered.

This cardless cash withdrawal technology will boost security, speed up transactions and reduce frauds because no card information is stored on the phone.

BMO Harris says it’s the first bank to offer smartphone-enabled, cardless ATM access locally.

"This particular program offers a lot of benefits for our customers, both in terms of convenience and security. We think it's going to be something that our customers just find extremely exciting as they use their mobile phones more and more for financial transactions, and frankly, their everyday lives."

HOW DOES 'MOBILE CASH' WORKS?

• Download the digital banking app, Mobile Cash.
• Sign into the Mobile Cash app
• The app will ask you to Enter the amount you want to withdraw
• The app will store the info until you get to the ATM
• At the ATM, select a "Mobile Cash" option on the ATM screen
• A quick response code, or QR code, will appear on the screen. Scan the QR code via your smartphone.
• Collect your cash. That’s it.

REDUCE BANKING FRAUDS

So, in order to carry out any credit or debit card fraud, a fraudster would need your particular smartphone and your Mobile Cash app password, which is rarely possible to have both at the same time.

Also, no card information is stored on your smartphone, and the bank can remotely delete the app if your device is lost or stolen.

Initially, the Mobile Cash service will be available on 750 ATMs, with 900 online by June, according to WSJ. While that's a very small figure compared to 425,000+ ATMs across the country.

BMO Harris Bank has more than 2 Million personal and commercial customers with 600 branches and more than 1,300 ATMs. A successful trial may well encourage other banks to add support for the system.

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