Wells Fargo today became the first major national bank to allow customers to use ATMs without a physical card.
The 20 million Wells Fargo customers who use the bank’s mobile app can now access its 13,000 ATMs via their phone. Customers will be able to login to ATMs using their PIN number and an eight-digit code sent to the mobile app.
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“Mobile continues to be the channel of choice for million of our customers, so it only makes sense to leverage it for new, convenient ATM experiences,” Adam Vancini, head of operations for Virtual Channels, said in a statement.
Card-free ATM transactions are more secure than those involving plastic. Compromised ATMs often use skimmers, devices that crooks use to read card data, which would be rendered useless when there’s no card to skim.
Later this year, Wells Fargo consumers will be able to sign into an ATM via their phones by simply holding the phone near the terminal.
Wells Fargo competitors Bank of America and Chase have also announced plans to upgrade their ATM networks this year and allow mobile access.
