ANZ responds to contactless wave by putting mobile in ATMs

Australians' love for contactless payments is driving the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group to incorporate mobile withdrawal technology to its ATM network.

The bank will allow customers to use Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Garmin Pay and Fitbit Pay as an alternative to plastic cards.

More than 1 million ANZ customers currently use digital wallets loaded with an ANZ-issued card, the bank said. Between October 2017 and August 2018, ANZ customers made more than 57 million mobile payment transactions worth more than $1.83 billion — an increase of more than 150 percent in transaction numbers from the same time a year earlier.

The activity at the ATMs via the ANZ Wallets@ATM app can take place through a smartphone or smartwatch to make cash withdrawals, change a PIN, deposit money, make account transfers or balance inquiries. Customers making a withdrawal will wave their mobile payments device over the contactless reader of an ANZ ATM, select the eligible card, and enter their four digit pin to access their accounts.

“With the high adoption rates of contactless payments in Australia, our customers will be some of the first in the world to use their mobile devices to withdraw cash in addition to making payments," said Kath Bray, ANZ customer engagement head, in a Friday press release.