No card won’t mean no cash with new app
MOBILE banking embarks on a new trajectory today with the launch of GetCash, the first service that allows money to be withdrawn from a cash machine without the use of a debit card.
From today, RBS or NatWest customers who use their bank’s mobile app will be able to take cash out of an ATM using a unique six digit pin number generated on their phone.
“This has never been done anywhere in the UK, yet it is a simple and secure way to help our customers get cash whenever and wherever they need it,” said Ben Green, head of mobile at NatWest and RBS.
He continued: “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 – GetCash means these problems have been solved in a totally secure and painless way.”
GetCash is the latest feature to be updated on the banks’ mobile app, which allows the user to transfer money, check balances and set text alerts among other services.
Already downloaded by more than 2.6m people, the app has facilitated over £776m worth of payments and transferred in excess of £4bn.
The increasing availability of cash via mobile services has led to criticisms that banks are neglecting customer security in favour of industry competitive technology.
But an RBS spokesperson said most customers have higher security on their mobile phones – which often need a password to access the phone itself before any of the apps can be opened – than debit cards, which are protected by just a four-digit pin number.
Up to £100 can be withdrawn per unique code, which remains valid for three hours, but there is no limit on the number of codes a customer can generate each day.
RBS and NatWest said GetCash is just the latest in a range of mobile developments this year which will propel the banks towards providing “the first genuine alternative to a customer’s wallet through their mobile phone.”