UK bank Barclays announced Monday that it is piloting a 'contactless cash' scheme in the northern UK, before expanding it to 180 branches across the country.
The new service lets customers take out up to £100 with a wave of their Android smartphone or contactless debit card at over 600 in-branch machines.
Restricted to NFC-enabled Android smartphones with the newest version of the Barclays app, customers can save time by logging, choosing the withdrawal amount, and inserting their pin. They must then tap the cash machine within 30 seconds, and voila – instant cash.
Otherwise, bank clients can tap their debit card or Android phone against the machine and enter the PIN and withdrawal amount as per usual.
Barclays emphasised the increased security of the service, as it eliminates the risk of magnetic card skimming and 'distraction fraud'.
Ashok Vaswani, CEO of Barclays UK, said that customer demand for easy smartphone tech also drove the innovation. "We are always looking for new ways to make our customers' lives easier and their finances even more secure. Our customers now expect to be able to use their smartphone to make their everyday purchases. We want taking out cash to be just as easy."
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
