The war against fraud and thieves continues as a new technology emerges to combat ATM scammers. The Bank Of Montreal will bring cardless ATM technology to the United States through the BMO Harris Bank out of Chicago. A smartphone and ATM are the only devices necessary for customers to access their ATM account and withdraw cash.
How Does The Cardless ATM Work?
A smartphone is necessary to use the ATM along with the mobile banking app.
- Customers can prepare their transaction on the mobile app prior to approaching the ATM.
- The ATM will have a mobile cash button to access the cardless technology.
- Customer holds the QR code on the smartphone to the reader and the transaction begins for cash withdrawals.
Is A Cardless ATM safe?
BMO Harris Bank maintains the cardless ATM is much safer than the traditional swipe the ATM card transaction. The cardless ATM thwarts skimmers who alter ATM machines to allow a customers’ ATM card information to be illegally gathered. The information which is transmitted between the smartphone and ATM is encrypted and no information is stored on the smartphone.
The service by BMO has launched in Chicago at 750 ATM machines. Wintrust Financial in Illinois and Wisconsin launched the service in 2014.
Data Breaches Continue
The cardless ATM technology is in direct response to the continued data breaches consumers have been subject to in the past few years. Home Depot, Target, Michaels, eBay, Yahoo, Medicaid, Neiman Marcus, Adobe and Apple were amongst the biggest data breaches in 2013 and 2014.
Europe has long issued credit cards with microchips which is alleged to be one of the best defenses against retail fraud. The EMV (Eurocard, Master, Visa) card creates a unique code each time it is swiped versus the traditional credit card with a magnetic strip. The magnetic strip does not change and allows frequent multiplication if stolen.
EMV cards are slowly being rolled out in the United States. A deadline of October 1, 2015 has been imposed guidelines for liability of a fraudulent transaction which was hoped to spur companies to roll out EMV cards quicker.
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