NCR Corporation has unveiled a concept to enable customers to access cash at an automatic teller machine (ATM) via a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA).
The solution is being developed on infrared and Bluetooth technologies and was recently demonstrated at the Marriott Marquis hotel, Times Square, New York. The company says that customers could type cash withdrawal details into their PDA or mobile phone in the office or at home. They could then walk to an ATM called Freedom, enter a security pin on the mobile handset, and point the handset at the ATM to withdraw cash.
Tim Wiggins, spokesperson, Advanced Concept Lab, NCR, Dundee, Scotland, expects that traditional ATMs will be capable of working with handheld devices some time in the near future - and probably before the red, egg-shaped, Freedom ATM is seen on the streets.
Consumers could also order travel and entertainment tickets via the handheld device and collect them at the ATM when withdrawing money. This type of ATM is compatible with broadband mobile connections. Data such as favorite MP3 files, for example, could be downloaded while customers wait to collect tickets.
Wiggins says: "Advances in Bluetooth and 3G will bring new services via mobile devices. ATMs could enhance these broadband services by dispensing associated physical items. Local area maps, for example, could be downloaded on a mobile device and dispensed at a nearby ATM. For places like Times Square, which experiences a high-volume of visitor traffic, that could be phenomenal."
According to a report issued by Cahner's In-Stat Group, more than 1.3 billion wireless data users are expected worldwide by 2004. Currently, there are more than 118 million US cellular phone users, while six per cent of all US households already own a PDA.