ROANOKE (WSLS10)-- For the 20 million Wells Fargo customers who use the company's mobile banking app, life just got a whole lot easier. A new technology is now in place, allowing customers to use their phones to access their bank accounts, with no card required.
Here's how it works-- you download the Wells Fargo app to your phone, request a unique 8-digit code and enter that code into any Wells Fargo ATM along with your pin number. It's an option that's already available on all of the banking giant's 13,000 ATMs nationwide.
It's one of the newest lines of defense for the bank, as the effort to crack down on identity theft and fraudulent transactions continues.
"This generates a one time access code," explains Kristy Marshall, the Wells Fargo Corporate Communication Spokesperson. "This code expires 30 minutes from the time of your request. It's very secure and you only use that code one time. So say you want to use the card feature the next day, you get a new code."
This is the first of several changes as later this year, Wells Fargo plans to introduce a tap and pay-like service as well.
"You won't need this one time access code," says Marshall. "You can just hold your phone up as you do at any retailer that has Apple Pay or Samsung Pay, a mobile wallet. You just hold your phone up to an ATM and can make your transactions."
If you don't have the cell phone app or aren't ready to make the switch to mobile yet, you don't have to. The ATMs will continue accepting cards as well.