No-Card ATM Transactions Gaining Steam

NEW YORK (MainStreet) — The need for caring a wallet or pocketbook is growing less and less important as "cardless" ATM withdrawals get some traction.

Royal Bank of Scotland (Stock Quote: RBC) and NatWest just introduced a mobile banking application in the U.K. that allows users to access cash at an ATM without a debit card. All a consumer has to do is request the transaction from their phone, input a six-digit transaction number provided by the bank at the ATM and scoop up their cash.

For now, cash amounts are limited – presumably to protect against I.D. fraud – but users can use the cellphone app as many times they want in a day.

"We've heard countless stories from customers who've left their wallet behind, or parents who need a quick way to send money across to their children immediately," explains Ben Green, director of mobile banking at NatWest and RBS.

Back in the U.S., Duluth, Ga.-based NCR (Stock Quote: NRC) announced a similar mobile banking program this week that enables a consumer to get cash from an ATM simply by scanning their debit card at the machine. The entire transaction takes 10 seconds and "removes PINS and debit cards" from the process, NCR says of its NCR Mobile Cash Withdrawal.

Consumers may warm up to the technology. The chip embedded in the software application doesn't contain personal financial information; it just identifies the ATM location and details of the transaction. An automatic receipt is generated after the transaction and sent to the user's smartphone.