Article

Bank allows customers to make ATM withdrawals with cellphones

The financial institution initiated the service after realizing that some customers who visited a bank branch to withdraw cash left their bank cards at home.

March 22, 2011

First National Bank, which is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, yesterday announced the launch of a new service that allows customers to withdraw funds from ATMs using their mobile phones instead of their bank cards.

Ravesh Ramlakan, CEO of First National Bank's Cellphone Banking Solutions, said the financial institution initiated the service after realizing that some customers who visited a bank branch to withdraw cash left their bank cards at home. The customers, however, always carried their mobile phones, Ramlakan said.

"Now, when you forget your purse or wallet at home, or just quickly need cash for life's little emergencies, you simply use your cellphone," he said.

To withdraw cash from a First National Bank ATM, customers must log onto Cellphone Banking and select the banking option. They then must choose "withdraw cash" and the account from which they want to take the funds, such as checking or savings.

Once the customer completes this step, the bank sends an SMS text message with a temporary PIN. The customer then goes to the ATM and selects "cardless services" and "withdraw cash" from a First National Bank account, said Roshni Reddy of Cellphone Banking Solutions.

The next step requires the customer to type in his cellphone number and the temporary PIN, Reddy said. The ATM dispenses the cash and issues the customer a receipt, confirming the transaction.

The PIN is good for 30 minutes to make a cash withdrawal from one of the bank's more than 4,500 ATMs. Customers can use the temporary PIN once.

First National Bank initially launched cellphone banking in 2005 to provide customers with 24-hour access to their bank accounts. The bank's Cellphone Banking service has more than 2.7 million customers.

Do you think bank customers will find ATM withdrawals made with cellphones convenient?