Coming Soon? Your Cell Phone As Your ATM!
According to this item from a recent edition of Time magazine,
"Customers of ATMs long ago decided they could do without a teller. Now Steven Atkinson has a bolder idea: they can also do without the cash. His company mobileATM has developed secure software that allows cell-phone owners in Britain to check their bank balances using their handsets. That may sound trivial, but 37 banks in Britain, including First Direct (the roughly $12 billion phone and PC division of giant HSBC) and RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland), have approved it.Is this technological development a good one? My husband has lost three cell phones in that last two years. Losing a cell phone is bad enough without having to worry about the finder--or thief--using it to access a bank account.
"Why? Because, says Atkinson, consumers make 150 million balance inquiries every month using 55,000 traditional hole-in-the-wall ATMs. MobileATM wants to redefine convenience. 'When you ask the question "Where is the nearest ATM?" I want the answer to be "It's in your hand," says Atkinson, who was born in 1969, the year that Chemical Bank in New York City opened the world's first modern ATM.
"If mobileATM is to provide a truly compelling service, shouldn't it also allow users to move cash around? 'You have to walk before you can run,' says Richard Kimber, chief executive of First Direct, who notes that consumers will be able to buy top-up credit for pay-as-you-go mobile phones. He also envisions a day when British commuters might be able to purchase subway rides using their mobileATM, the next step in turning your phone into your wallet."
The possibilites for abuse of the-cell-phone-as-ATM are endless. Next thing you know, your cell phone will be ripped off and used to steal your identity!
posted by Always On Watch @ 12/14/2005 11:01:00 AM
17 comments
17 Comments:
Bassizzzt,
Nice of you to stop by. I know how busy you are these days!
The article is dated December 4, 2005. I had laid it aside to blog closer to that date, but just didn't get around to it.
How the banking ATM capability been working for your daughter? Any problems you know of?
Any instances of fraud with those vending machines?
What happens if a cell phone user loses the phone?
Man, if I can get cash to start comming out of my cell phone... it's all over!
Maybe if they also installed this voice verifier I just read (on Israel21c) that Israel has done to help the US keep track of VISA (not the credit card) holders. Otherwise, yes, it sounds to me like it could be trouble.
AOW..I know this is a little off subject and I apologize but reading your post reminded me of this. Have you or any of your readers noticed the commercial where instead of being late on your credit card payment..if you make another purchase there will be no late fee. What genius thought up that idea? It seems like there's a plot to keep Americans in debt. Savings among most Americans is already at an all-time low. I can't understand the reasoning..maybe somebody who went further than macro-economics can explain it.
Mr. Ducky said...
Start piling up those fees.
Profit center for the banks, gimmick for the consumer?
Could not have said it better myself. I remember when ATMs were an alternative and reduced the banks overall workload...now they are nothing but a fee collector.
Crusader,
Please don't apologize. That commercial you mentioned is a related tangent.
Yes, I've seen that commercial: instead of being late on your credit card payment..if you make another purchase there will be no late fee.
As you point out, Americans are saving very little. And that commercial promotes even more irresponsible spending. Also, the implication is that many are late with their payments. What I hear when I see that commercial: "Go ahead and overextend. Go further into debt from which you can never extricate yourself. No late fees as you commit financial suicide!"
Of course, what isn't mentioned in that commercial is that the interest keeps on rolling. I've seen some studies which show what happens if one pays only the minimum payment each month. And, sad to say, some of my relatives have fallen into the credit-card trap, even to the point of opening another account when several others are maxxed out.
Many Americans are stuck on stupid as far as their individual finances are concerned.
Samwich,
I invite you to comment on these financial matters.
"traditional hole-in-the-wall ATMs."
Traditional??
I still remember the times when doing business over the counter was considered traditional.
Now - that's nostalgic!
Duck:
Start piling up those fees.
Profit center for the banks, gimmick for the consumer?
Absolutely! So, you and I have agreed three times in one day.
our miserable savings rate is a big, big problem.
That makes FOUR points of agreement!
so much dependence on foreigners is far more dangerous than any threat Islamists pose
Going for five points now, though I'm not sure that "more dangerous" are the words I'd use. "More insidious" would be my choice of words--and certainly more far-reaching.
BTW, I'm finally reading that book you mentioned, the one about economics: Day of Reckoning. Thanks for the recommendation.
Samwich,
A pretty ugly analysis you've got there. Inevitable fall of the United States as a financial power?
This, too, is an often overlooked point: your billing company will know everything about you.
Thank you very much for taking the time to post your comments.
G,
I have no fondness for cell phones. But I did find the cell phone very useful when my father was in his last days. And he found the cell phone useful too: it gave him security to know that he could run his errands, could always be reached, and could call 911 or a tow truck, if the need arised. He also could call me at work. My classroom was the furthest from the office, and my last employer was terrible about delivering messages to us teachers.
But using a cell phone to transact banking business and to make payments? Not for me! In fact, I hardly ever talk on the cell phone.
On the other hand, some people have the cell phone stuck in their ear all the time. I don't understand that.
Felis,
I still remember the times when doing business over the counter was considered traditional.
I've only recently learned how to use an ATM.
For a short time, I worked as a bank teller, back in 1972. We were all very excited when we heard that our bank would soon be getting an "automatic teller." We didn't call it ATM yet. Anyway, once the ATM's came along, the number of tellers decreased.
Slightly different subject...Here in the States, we've had a few crazy individuals steal, or try to steal, ATM's. Usually the stories have an amusing ending, but not always.
Like all things new there will be unexpected problems. I am somewhat alarmed that police can check the speed of your car if a cell phone .
The situation in Northern VT is silly. I get followed about once a week and pulled over about every other week.
Samwich,
Don't apologize for your analysis. The economic realities of indebtedness and outsourcing are ugly. In other words, this truth is ugly. What made your analysis so ugly was the comprehensive summary in such a short space.
I am an only child, so aloneness doesn't bother me. I see a difference between aloneness and loneliness. For example, I feel a certain loneliness since my parents died (1987, 1998)--we were so close. As adults, we were best friends.
I know what you mean about women traipsing to the restroom in a herd. I don't understand that either! Teachers tend not to go to the restroom in a herd because of classroom coverage. Having to tell women to "go to the potty" alone is ludicrous, but I'm sure your Boeing tale is true.
Yesterday I saw a woman at a bus stop talking on a cell phone. Nothing unusual about that--except that she was swaddled like a mummy with barely her eyes visible (extrememly cold here). She had the cell phone pressed to the outside of her cap and was talking through the scarf wrapped around her face. I had to laugh.
Beak,
police can check the speed of your car if a cell phone
I didn't know that! I've warned my husband. On a nice day, that convertible top comes down on the Mustang, and he hauls.
The situation in Northern VT is silly. I get followed about once a week and pulled over about every other week.
Those out-of-town plates, right? Small-town officers in the rural South do the same thing.
G has posted an article about economics @
http://americacentered.blogspot.com/2005/
12/trade-deficit-at-all-time-high.html
Storm,
You know the ins-and-outs of identity theft. Thank you so much for posting this comment.
Coincidentally, I just found a newspaper article about mall kiosks. I haven't thoroughly read the article, but as I skimmed it, I think that it is a positive article about how hard immigrants work in the kiosks.
I will be featuring your comment at my blog when I discuss the newspaper article.
For the record: I rarely use mall kiosks, and when I do, I always pay by cash. I guess my woman's intution has paid off.
As to computer connections, I'm on primitive dial-up and don't have wireless. Thank you for noting that firewalls do not always provide the protection which they advertise.
I've heard that it's perfectly legal to use someone else's wireless net. I found the fact that one can tap into another's wn very alarming. Again, just intuition.
Storm,
I won't limit the post just to kiosks, then. I'll use the kiosks as a starting point and go from there to make the points you have here.
The post will have to wait until my mother-in-law leaves tomorrow to return to CA. She has Alzheimer's and is a sundowner, so we have to watch her carefully. I'll also have to inspect her suitcase before she leaves.
If you want me to include additional info, post it here or email me with links.
I appreciate your input on the serious matter of identity theft. Thanks!
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