News

NatWest puts mobile ATM feature on hold

October 9, 2012

British bank NatWest is suspending the Get Cash feature of its mobile phone app that allows customers to obtain cash from an ATM without using their ATM card.

A BBC report said that the feature was shut down after thieves used the service to steal money from bank customers. (The NatWest site says only that Get Cash has been discontinued as the app is being updated.)

Launched earlier this year, Get Cash was designed to let mobile app users make cardless ATM withdrawals using a six-digit code retrieved from the bank's mobile app.

According to the BBC report, fraudsters have been able to use phishing scams to access NatWest customer information, which they use to fraudulently obtain the six-digit cash codes.

However one customer who was defrauded of £950 ($1521) said not only that he had never responded to a phishing email, but also that he had never even signed up for the mobile cash service.

There was no information from either the BBC report or the NatWest site as to when the Get Cash feature will be available again.

For more on this topic, visit the mobile banking research center.