[NewsPoster]

A new report confirmed by the head of Wells Fargo's ATM division suggests that at least two large US banks are working on adding NFC secure payment functionality to automatic teller machines, giving customers the option of simply waving their smartphone or Apple Watch to use Apple Pay-style authentication rather than the traditional debit card insertion and PIN confirmation entry. The system will also support other mobile wallets, and is being tested with Android Pay currently.

Bank of America has also confirmed it is working on "cardless" ATM solutions that would involve near-field communications (NFC), the same standard used for Apple Pay transactions. Both banks have said the program is in the early stages, and would not confirm compatibility with the numerous versions of mobile wallet technology, from PayPal to Samsung Pay to Apple Pay and others. Jonathan Velline of Wells Fargo said that the firm "has been working on the technology that allows us to hook to digital wallets, leveraging NFC on mobile phones to replace the card at the transaction at the ATM."

Future 'cardless' ATMs may more closely resemble this

"Right now, the wallet that we support is Android Pay ... but we're also looking at lots of different mobile wallets, and evaluating which ones are going to be appropriate for our customers. We'll likely add more mobile wallets throughout the year," Velline told TechCrunch in a report. He could not confirm when the technology would come to Wells Fargo ATMs, but Bank of America has indicated it will start testing the feature late next month in cities such as Boston, Massachusetts; Charlotte, North Carolina; New York City, and San Francisco, California before expanding the rollout by mid-year.

The move could do much to increase the use and acceptance of Apple Pay in the US, since the two banks between them have nearly 30,000 ATMs across America. While Apple Pay is supported now by most banks and credit unions in the cards they issue, it has met some resistance from merchants because of its strong consumer privacy protections, which in turn has kept the locations that accept it fairly low. Ironically, Apple Pay based on supported US cards is widely accepted outside the US, where EMV ("chip-and-PIN") and contactless NFC-compatible cards have been the norm for the last decade.

[coffeetime]

I don't understand the purpose of this. You mean you walk to an ATM with your iPhone and the cash spits out?

[Mike Wuerthele]

After an authentication, probably provided though the Apple Pay service, essentially.

[coffeetime]

If this is the case, that's brilliant.

[Mr. Strat]

Knowing BoA, they'll charge you extra for Apple Pay.

[DiabloConQueso]

Knowing Wells-Fargo, they'll probably get all the charges wrong, necessitating several phone calls and visits to various local branches.

[Flying Meat]

Went to two Auto parts stores this weekend (same name, different locations) and they did have chip readers, but they did not work yet, so card swipe.