Japanese bank to allow cellphone ATM access

Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Bank plans to let customers start accessing ATMs via cellphone this fall, but that doesn't mean just dialing for cash. The bank will use NTT's FeliCa e-wallet, a near-field communication system similar to one being tested by Cingular in Atlanta. Phones will be equipped with a special chip that will be able to communicate with the ATM. Customers will still be required to enter a PIN or password, so cellphone thieves won't have access to accounts unless they also know the user's PIN. Sumitomo Mitsui is the first national Japanese bank to offer cellphone access to ATMs; a smaller bank, Ogaki Kyoritsu, began offering a similar service in 2004, and NTT set up an experimental cellphone-accessible ATM the same year.

[Donald @ Jan 27th 2006 10:47AM]

I hope they bring this to North America. Considering how much money goes into my mobile each month, it'd be nice to cut the middleman out.

[Japan's Cellphone Edge @ Jan 27th 2006 8:26PM]

They already started trials of technology (NFC) here in the States, but so far only for contactless payments. But Japanese are just way ahead with their cellphones. Last week, they nearly crushed their Stock Exchange with the requests from cellphones to trade shares.
http://analytica1st.com/analytica1st/2006/01/japan-cellphone-stock-trading-rakes-in.html

[Alex @ Jan 30th 2006 1:00AM]

Yet still you can't get money in the middle of the night and they charge you extra to use the atm after bank hours...screwy