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Wintrust ATMs get new software, works with your smartphone

Rosemont-based Wintrust Community Banks are adding new software to its fleet of 190 ATMs so they can communicate with customers' smartphones.

Fifty-one Wintrust ATMs so far, including those in Chicago, Winnetka, Glencoe, Wilmette and Norridge, have the new software that will allow bank customers to use their smartphones for a so-called cardless cash transaction. The software will be added to the remaining ATMs throughout this year, said Tom Ormseth, senior vice president for noncredit services for Rosemont-based Wintrust.

The software is going over well. "So far, no one has reported any issues. No complaints. Customers can even get a receipt sent to their phone," Ormseth said.

Most of all, Wintrust is banking on the new software to eliminate the use of cards, alleviate skimming and other fraud, and allow consumers a faster, more efficient transaction.

You need to be a customer of one of the Wintrust banks and have an active debit card on file at that bank. Wintrust has 15 different mobile banking apps, one for each of its charter banks. Customers can visit iTunes or Google Play and search for the charter bank for its mobile Cardless Cash app, said Kirsten Keary-Taylor, Wintrust's ATM and consumer digital product manager.

After the app is installed in the customer's smartphone, they can log on to preset their withdrawal request. To do this, the customer logs into their app, selects the Cardless Cash menu option, selects the account they would like to withdraw from and the amount they want to withdraw. Then they can opt to save their selections and log out of the app. All of their selections are saved until they are ready to go to the ATM to withdraw their cash. The app also can also be used to locate the closest Cardless Cash-enabled ATM, Keary-Taylor said.

Once they arrive at the ATM, the customer can log into their app using their 4-digit pass code, press the Cardless Cash button in their app, which opens the phone's camera, press the Cardless Cash button on the ATM which causes a one-time QR code to display on the ATM screen, and then use the phone to scan the QR code. The smartphone and ATM communicate with each other and the network, and the ATM will provide the cash, Keary-Taylor said.

The addition of the new software won't bring any new fees for the transactions. And consumers should feel more secure knowing the data of the transaction is stored in the cloud, not on the their phone, Ormseth said.

Besides the updated ATMs, Wintrust is planning other new technology. Wintrust is aiming to provide more mobile paying systems for consumers, like Apple Wallet.

"Now we have the infrastructure for mobile phones, this is a first step for consumers to use our new mobile wallet," Ormseth said.

Apple 6 includes a new payment system that partners with Visa, MasterCard and American Express that allows consumers to pay for items in a store with the their fingerprint identification.

"We're going to move to the mobile wallet next, and customers could see it later this year or in 2016," he said.

• Follow Anna Marie Kukec on LinkedIn and Facebook and as AMKukec on Twitter. Write to her at akukec@dailyherald.com.

Wintrust is rolling out a new software so their ATMs can talk to their customers' smartphones in order to do cardless cash transactions. COURTESY OF WINTRUST
Wintrust is rolling out a new software so their ATMs can talk to their customers' smartphones in order to do a cardless cash transaction. COURTESY OF WINTRUST
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