It looks like your smartphone is ready to revolutionize one more piece of your traditional banking experience: trips to the ATM.
NCR, a company known for developing new self-service technologies, is currently testing a tool called Mobile Cash Withdrawal, which eliminates the need for a piece of plastic and a PIN when you’re taking cash from your checking account. Instead of digging into your wallet and navigating through a few screens, the technology lets you use your mobile banking app to set up the withdrawal before you arrive at the machine. Once you’re there, you scan a 2D barcode on the ATM, and voila! You have your cash.
I’ve never really considered ATM withdrawals to be much of a hassle, but I don’t know many consumers who would argue with a service that speeds up the routine. The company says the technology will reduce the amount of time at the ATM to as little as 10 seconds. More importantly, it helps protect you at the ATM, cutting out the possibility of skimming devices stealing the data from your debit card.
There’s no word yet on which banks will offer Mobile Cash Withdrawal, but I’m guessing we’ll see this service begin to pop up around the country. The service will reduce paper expenses for banks (receipts for withdrawals are stored in the app), and the ATM line will clearly move at a much faster pace.
For all the upsides of the service, though, I’m curious how quickly consumers will adopt it. We can be slow to part ways with our habits, and many readers are understandably worried about the increased potential for identity theft that comes with new technology.
What do you think? Would you use it to save time at the ATM?
