Cardless ATMs Could Be Coming To Pittsburgh Soon

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- ATMs are everywhere, and customers use them 24-7 for cash withdrawals from their bank accounts.

Right now it takes a card to do that, but that technology is changing.

Call it cardless ATMs or mobile cash withdrawal.

"Mobile cash withdrawal is a step to combine mobile banking with the ATM channel," says Jeff Dudash, a spokesperson for NCR, a company that has been working on this technology.

Dudash says it's all about making it easier to get your cash.

The old ATM debit cards could become a thing of the past. The latest banking technology involves smart phones, a smart phone that you can use to withdraw cash directly from an ATM.

"What mobile cash withdrawal will allow consumers to do is to pre-stage a transaction using their mobile banking app and then complete that transaction by using their mobile phone camera and an ATM once they've reached the machine," Dudash explained to KDKA money editor Jon Delano on Friday.

In short, once you have authorized the withdrawal through your phone, the bank sends your phone a code that is scanned by the ATM, releasing the cash to you.

"I think it's just another step in moving forward with technology and banking, so I think it's a great idea," says Nicole Manning of Green Tree.

"I think it's a great idea. I wouldn't have to carry my debit card with me then," adds Tina Dinger of Warren.

"Once they got the kinks out of it, I'd be willing to give it a try to see how it works," says Michael Salega of Castle Shannon.

While popular with some, others worry about security.

"Just that much on my phone -- that's just too dangerous -- in one place anyway. I don't think I would use it," notes Kelli Best of Penn Hills.

But Dudash says cardless ATMs are safer, "because it eliminates the card and magnetic stripe from the transaction."

So how long before cardless ATMs are here?

"I would expect to see this kind of technology coming to Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania very soon," predicted NCR's Dudash.

But expect both ways to withdraw cash for a while.

"I prefer the old-fashioned way of going to the MAC machine, putting my card in, and getting my money out," says Kevin Edwards of Mt. Lebanon.

Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter