Fifth Third Bank customers no longer need a debit card to access an ATM. They can use their phone instead.
Customers of the Cincinnati-based bank can now use the bank's mobile banking app to get cash from an ATM and conduct other business, such as depositing checks and paying bills.
To get money without a debit card, customers sign into Fifth Third's mobile-banking app on their smartphone, choose the account they want to withdraw money from and tap on the new Cardless ATM icon. Then they touch anywhere on the ATM screen, scan the code that appears on their phone, enter their PIN and begin banking.
Fifth Third is one of a handful of banks that no longer require a debit card at an ATM.
Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America have similar programs, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. is testing a program at large employee sites, including in Columbus.
Chase expects to roll out its program in central Ohio this spring. The bank has 147 ATMs in Franklin County.
One expert is a fan of bank-by-phone capabilities.
"It is a more robust tool that allows consumers to bank wherever they are," whether that is a branch office or an ATM, said Bruce Clapp, president of Market Match, a Dayton-based financial-marketing company.
"Cardless ATM is one more example of our taking time to understand our customers’ needs and working to improve their experience," said Jordan A. Miller Jr., Fifth Third's central Ohio president, in a statement. "This means banking when, where and how they want."
The introduction of the app comes at a time of increased interest in mobile banking by Fifth Third customers. The bank said that mobile banking logins swelled by 40 percent between December 2016 and December 2017.
Fifth Third has about 2,500 ATMs in its 10-state retail footprint, including 111 in central Ohio.
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Fifth Third Bank has announced that its customers can now access the bank’s ATMs without having to use their debit cards.
Instead, Fifth Third customers simply need to use the bank’s mobile app to access all of the ATM functions.
“Fifth Third is bringing new innovations to customers on a regular basis, and I’m excited that this new feature connects two channels our customers use frequently — our mobile app and Fifth Third ATMs,” said Fifth Third’s Chief Digital Officer and Head of Innovation, Design and Omnichannel Experiences Melissa Stevens.
So far, Fifth Third is one of only a handful of U.S. banks offering card-free ATM access — and it is just the latest innovation from the financial institution.
Last year, Fifth Third partnered with Zelle, a person-to-person mobile payments platform that competes directly PayPal, Square Cash and Venmo.
In addition, the bank announced it is one of a few banks based in the U.S. to offer customers the ability to use all five major mobile payment methods to make purchases.
“Cardless ATM is one more example of our taking time to understand our customers’ needs and working to improve their experience,” Jim Sutton, director of ATM channel and distribution strategy, said. “This means banking when, where and how they want.”
Fifth Third currently operates around 2,500 ATMs in its 10-state retail footprint, all of which will offer card-free access. However, the service is not available on the bank’s partner ATMs.
To use the card-free ATMs, all customers need to do is sign into Fifth Third’s mobile banking app, choose the account from which they want to withdraw money and tap on the new Cardless ATM icon. They can then touch anywhere on an ATM screen and scan the code that appears, enter their PIN and start their banking transaction.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Fifth Third Bank has become the first bank in Northeast Ohio to allow customers to withdraw money from ATMs without using an ATM or debit card.
The service -- called "cardless ATMs" -- was introduced this month. It relies on technology through smartphones and the Fifth Third phone app, instead of the magnetic strip on the back of a card.
While Fifth Third is the first in Greater Cleveland, other local banks, including PNC and Chase, expect to also offer cardless ATMs in Northeast Ohio later this year.
A few big banks nationwide started testing cardless ATMs in a handful of cities in the last three years. Wells Fargo was the first to roll them out companywide last March. Others that are using them or testing them include Bank of America and BMO Harris Bank of Chicago, neither which have a branch network in Northeast Ohio.
Fifth Third launched cardless technology at its 127 local ATMs to give customers an option they may find more convenient and more secure, said Joseph DiRocco, regional president for the Cincinnati-based bank.
"We're focusing on understanding our customers' needs," DiRocco said in an interview.
About 77 percent of Americans own a smartphone, according to the Pew Research Center. And, quite simply, most people almost always have their phone on them.
The ability to withdraw money from an ATM without one's card can be convenient for people who don't want to carry their ATM card or just happen not to have it with them on a particular outing, DiRocco said, such as during a bike ride in the Metroparks or out to a youth baseball game.
"We look at it as servicing the customers and the way they live their lives today," DiRocco said.
All of the large banks in the United States are using, testing or considering cardless ATM technology, said Steve Kenneally, senior vice president of payments and cybersecurity policy for the American Bankers Association in Washington, D.C. "You go to your phone for everything today," Kenneally said. "If you want cash and you realize, 'Oh, don't have my card?' No problem."
Cardless ATMs could also be safer than using a traditional card, DiRocco said, which could be compromised at an ATM that a thief has rigged with a skimmer. "Skimming has happened occasionally" at Fifth Third ATMs, he said.
Another way a person might be safer using cardless ATMs: If you're carrying a card, you risk dropping it. If it's a debit card connected to your checking account (as most people with bank cards have), then your account could get drained if the person who finds your card is dishonest and goes on a shopping spree without needing your four-digit PIN, just a scribbled "signature."
PNC expects to launch card-free ATMs this summer, said spokeswoman Shannon Mortland. Citizens is "actively exploring it" and expects to offer it in the future, said spokeswoman Nancy Lesic. U.S Bank and Huntington have no immediate plans. KeyCorp didn't comment.
Chase, meanwhile, will install cardless ATMs in at least some parts of Ohio later this year as it continues testing the technology.
Chase was one of the banks walloped by fraud in the last couple of years after gangs of thieves hacked into customers' phones and raided their checking accounts of thousands of dollars using the cardless ATM technology. In one case written about by this newspaper, the son of a Hudson resident had $3,000 stolen from his checking account when the thief hacked the account and used an ATM in a far-away city.
At the time, Chase was relying on a customer logging into his account via the app and receiving a special six-digit code that was valid for only a few minutes. The customer then would have to use the six-digit code and his normal four-digit PIN to withdraw money. Presumably, money could be withdrawn by anyone who could hack the account.
Now, banks seem to be gravitating now to a process that requires the customer's registered phone to be next to the ATM, verified either by photographing a QR two-dimensional bar code or being verified by near-field communication. Kenneally of the ABA said some banks are still using special codes.
Chase has addressed its security issues, said spokeswoman Christine Holevas. "It's a different technology. We're now using NFC with mobile wallets instead of a code." Access to a cardless ATM requires customers to use an eligible Chase debit or Chase Liquid card that has been loaded into an Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay mobile wallet, she said.
Fifth Third also uses QR codes that require the phone to be present. To withdraw money without a card, a customer while at the ATM would need to log in to her Fifth Third app on her phone, select an account to withdraw money from and select the cardless ATM option. When she walks up to the Fifth Third ATM, she would touch the screen to generate the QR code and take a photo of it with her phone, and then enter her regular four-digit PIN. That would provide access to the account.
DiRocco stressed that the new technology is an option. Customers can continue using their plastic ATM or debit cards with no effect of them. If they sign up for cardless ATM access, it requires confirmation from the customer's contact phone number or email on file before it can even be used the first time. Thereafter, a person could flip back and forth between using a card or not, depending on his needs.
Kenneally said consumers will dictate whether cardless ATMs using their phones take off. "If it's easier for them to do than pulling their card out, they'll keep using it."
Kenneally also predicted that all of the nation's 6,000 banks will offer cardless ATM access within five years once the technology matures and past security concerns are resolved.
"As the world trends toward everything going on your phone," he said, "the banks want to go with you."
STEPS TO PROTECT YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS IF YOU'RE USING A BANK APP
- Don't download apps or sign into your bank account on your phone or laptop on public Wi-Fi.
- Make sure to keep your phone secure, including using a screen lock and not allowing others to use your phone except possibly in your presence.
- Monitor your accounts regularly (daily is best).
- Sign up to get alerts for every transaction or any account change.
Sources: American Bankers Association, Fifth Third Bank
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