MoneyOnMobile’s New ATM Tool Adds Biometric Capability

May 28, 2024         By: Steven Anderson

With all the furor around the demonetization efforts in India, it would be easy to think that almost no one’s using an ATM any more. That’s not the case, however, as plenty still turn to these devices for cash, and a new tool from MoneyOnMobile—who tipped us off about it—adds an extra layer of protection to ATM users thanks to biometric security options.

The MoneyOnMobile system started with 3,000 units around India, and within the next several months, expects to fire up another 3,000. Even before the launch started, the company had a trial version with 5,000 ATMs operating, so the grand total should hit around 11,000 units within those next few months.

Using a combination of Open Banking application programming interfaces (APIs) and the recently-minted national identity system known as Aadhaar, the system now allows users to authenticate with a fingerprint linked to a bank account. It actually substitutes for a debit card, since it contains all the same information. The entire transaction is said to be completely seamless, which would be quite a step up.

MoneyOnMobile CEO Harold Montgomery noted “Our goal for 2018 is to expand our MOM ATM product line and the total number of deployments, and this biometric-based MOM ATM cash-out solution is a strong step towards achieving that goal. Before the rollout we had roughly 5,000 MOM ATM units operating. We expect that this figure will go well beyond 11,000 with the new biometric-based MOM ATM in the coming months, and bring us closer to our goal of having 30,000 MOM ATM units operating by the end of 2019.”

Adding biometrics to just about any system is worthwhile, really; it’s very hard to fake biometrics, especially considering the advances that have been made in recent years. Sure, it used to be that you could beat a facial recognition system with a photograph, but that’s really come a long way. Now, biometrics often offers security that’s as easy to remember as bringing a finger with you, while also tough to beat with fakes.

That’s good news for ATM users, and for MoneyOnMobile, it should be a clear path to success. It’s hard not to like a system that offers strong protection and high ease of use in one package.