CHICAGO—BMO Harris Bank here has launched a cardless ATM network that will allow customers to withdraw cash by using their smartphones.
The bank says the technology will speed up transactions and reduce fraud. Harris Bank, a unit of Bank of Montreal, said the move will cut costs and improve security.
According to the bank, customers can to access cash without using a debit card and can prepare for a transaction before arriving at an ATM. To do that, customers log into a mobile-banking app on their smartphones, enter the amount to be withdrawn, walk up to an enabled ATM and press the mobile cash button. After the customer holds up the QR code on their smartphone to a reader, the ATM dispenses the requested cash.
The bank says a mobile cash transaction takes 15 seconds, compared with 45 seconds for a debit-card withdrawal, and is safer because the customer doesn’t need to insert his or her card. That eliminates the possibility of “skimming” devices that allow fraudsters to pull information from a card’s magnetic stripe in a compromised ATM, the bank said, adding that no card information is stored on the phone, and the bank can remotely delete the app if a device is lost or stolen.