Wells Fargo today has deployed card-free access to all 13,000 of its ATMs in the United States, while also announcing that transactions through NFC-enabled mobile wallets -- including Apple Pay -- will launch later this year. Customers will be able to make NFC withdrawals with Apple Pay, Wells Fargo Wallet, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay through a simple NFC-enabled tap and PIN authentication when the feature launches sometime in 2017.
Launching today, however, is Wells Fargo's new One-Time Access Code feature, which lets customers authenticate at an ATM by entering an 8-digit code along with their debit or ATM card PIN, all without needing their physical card. To do so customers will log into the Wells Fargo app and choose "Card-Free ATM access" within Account Services to receive their 8-digit access code. After entering the code and their PIN, the company said that the ATM transaction process is the same as when using a physical card.
“At Wells Fargo, we believe the future is cardless, and the launch of One-Time Access Code provides our 20 million mobile banking customers another convenient way to manage money,” said Brett Pitts, head of digital for Virtual Channels. “This new ATM feature exemplifies Wells Fargo’s commitment to innovation.”
In addition to One-Time Access Code, later this year customers will be able to initiate a cardless ATM transaction with the “tap and pay” technology in an NFC-enabled smartphone. When this feature is live, a customer will be able to initiate a transaction by signing into a leading mobile wallet (Wells Fargo Wallet, Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay), and holding the phone near an NFC-enabled ATM terminal. Once authenticated, the customer will input their debit or ATM card PIN and complete their transaction.
Apple Pay support at Wells Fargo and Bank of America ATMs has been reported on for well over a year, with Bank of America adding in NFC Apple Pay withdrawals to around 2,400 of its ATMs last summer. Wells Fargo today didn't mention a specific launch date for the debut of Apple Pay at its ATMs, but it did hint that the feature could launch on more than 5,000 of its machines in the U.S., which represent the number of its ATMs that are already NFC-enabled.
