The End of the ATM Card is Nigh?

RoamWare Cardless ATM Gets Global Release After Successful Rollout in Europe and Ireland

Dublin based Roamware, a global leader in mobile roaming solutions and financial services, has announced the global availability of its product Cardless ATM. Already in use in Europe, the service enables bank customers to withdraw cash from an ATM without the use of a bank card.

Roamware customer Permanent TSB, the retail banking division of Irish Life & Permanent plc, are the first and only Irish bank to provide their customers with this service. It was launched in 2009 as part of their mobile banking solutions with the emphasis on ‘Emergency Cash.' The service allows customers to make a withdrawal from any of their ATMs without a card, and is proving beneficial in cases where bank cards have been lost or stolen, or as a way of sending money to family members or friends in need. To activate the service the customer simply sends an SMS from their Irish mobile to an Irish mobile number, and upon receiving the text message, the recipient enters the code in the ATM to withdraw up to €100 emergency cash.

According to Permanent TSB's Online Development and Mobile Banking Manager, Eamon Martin,  Cardless ATM technology could easily replace the bank card. He told IrishDev.com "Emergency Cash is one of the many ways Permanent TSB is differentiated in the market. It gives our customers peace of mind knowing they still have access to cash if their card is stolen." 

Martin added, "As the service beds down, Permanent TSB will market it more mainstream. I can see it being used as an alternative for people who do not want to carry their bank cards around on a night out, or simply want to send their nephew or niece a cash birthday present."

A limitation to Roamware's Cardless ATM product is at the present time is that it is not yet possible to send money overseas, primarily due to the non-existence of cross-border and inter bank agreements. However, according to Roamware, who spoke to IrishDev.com this morning, discussions are in progress between banks, particularly in the Asian and African regions to allow non-bank and cross-bank customers to draw cash from each others ATMs.

Martin added that internationalising their service for Permanent TSB customers is under consideration with a second release, however extensive re-development work is needed on their system to handle international mobile phones numbers.

Avnish Chauhan, Executive Vice President at Roamware said, "There is great interest in this product from banks around the world, particularly in Asia and Africa where banks plan on using it for mobile money purposes, that is to send money to friends and family. This is a cost saving solution that could potentially complement no frills bank account offering to underbanked and unbanked communities in developing economies."

Cardless ATM is one of many mobile financial products that Roamware has made available to banks and mobile operators since the acquisition of mobile financial services developer Macalla Software Ltd in 2009. Other m-commerce and mobile banking solutions offered by Roamware include credit transfers, international remittance, adding prepaid minutes, person to person transactions and bill payment.

Schedule Announced for the Irish Software Show, June 8th-11th Click Here

People reading this article also read....

More Mobile News on IrishDev.com

More Macalla News on IrishDev.com

Get Instant Updates....

Join IrishDev.com on Facebook and Twitter