Wells Fargo rolls out card-free ATM access

Left your wallet at home? You may still be able to grab some cash.

Starting Monday, Wells Fargo is now the first major U.S. bank to offer a card-free option at all of its ATMs. The bank’s customers will be able to use their smartphones to access any of the bank’s 13,000 ATMs. Other major U.S. banks have rolled out card-free ATMs in limited locations.

Here’s how it works: Customers must download and log into the Wells Fargo app on their smartphones and request an eight-digit code, which they can type into an ATM instead of inserting a debit card. Next, they enter their PIN, just as they would if they were using their cards.

Wells Fargo is offering the cardless option at a time when consumers are increasingly comfortable with using their phones to check their balances, deposit checks and transfer cash, said Jonathan Velline, head of branch and ATM banking for Wells Fargo. Using the phone to tap into an ATM is a logical next step, he said.

The card-free option can be more secure than using a debit card, Velline said, because it reduces the chance that fraudsters can steal and copy the numbers on your debit card. The app generates a unique code that expires within 30 minutes.

Plus, consumers using the app have to prove their identity on their smartphones — either by providing their thumbprint or by typing in their online banking password — in addition to entering their PIN numbers. (With your physical debit card, you only need to provide the PIN code.)

Consumers can expect to see more cardless ATMs over the next few years. JPMorgan Chase is testing the technology at some locations, while Bank of America has introduced a card-free option at about half of its ATMs. For Bank of America, some machines currently accept mobile wallet programs, such as Apple Pay and Android Pay. Consumers need to only tap their smartphones on or near the ATM, provide their passcode or thumbprint on the phone, and then enter their PINs into the ATM. Wells Fargo said it is upgrading its ATMs to incorporate the digital phone readers and hopes to make the mobile wallet technology more widely available throughout this year and next year.

Banks are also working on programs that can help people cue up transactions even before they reach the ATM.