Wells Fargo Rolls Out Contactless Withdrawals At Thousands Of ATMs

Wells Fargo announced Tuesday (Oct. 10) it has rolled out a tap-and-pay near-field communication (NFC) functionally that works with more than 5,000 ATMs around the country.

In a press release, Wells Fargo said the new feature, which is available for debit card holders, can be activated using a mobile phone’s wallet feature.

The bank said more than 40 percent of its ATMs have functioning NFC capability, and the goal is to upgrade the remaining more than 13,000 ATMs with the hardware by 2019.

Currently, Wells Fargo customers can access any Wells Fargo ATM without the need for the physical card by generating a one-time access code via the bank’s app.

The bank said the launch of the one-time code in March of this year made it the first large bank to offer ATM cash withdrawal without having a debit card present.

With the new feature, customers can begin an ATM transaction by logging into a mobile wallet — be it Wells Fargo’s Wallet for Android, Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay. Customers hold their phones or devices with mobile payment functionality near the ATM terminal to obtain their cash.

ATMs with the NFC cardless technology will have a contactless symbol decal on the front of them, Wells Fargo said. The customer inputs his or her Wells Fargo debit or EasyPay card personal identification number (PIN) to complete the ATM transaction.

“According to Forrester, by 2021, mobile payments volume in the U.S. will triple,” said Jim Smith, head of virtual channels at Wells Fargo, in a press release. “Our customers are increasingly using mobile to manage their finances and make payments, which makes it ever[more] important for Wells Fargo to provide our more than 20 million mobile banking and mobile wallet customers with a seamless mobile authentication and access experience at our ATMs, online and in our branches.”