SA’s fourth-largest lender by market value aims to roll out 900 tap-and-go ATMs this year. These will be primarily focused in Gauteng and the Western Cape.
The ATMs work when customers tap their cards on the ATMs' near-field communication-enabled card readers and then enter their pins.
The new system is expected to reduce transaction times at Absa ATMs by up to 12 seconds on average.
“Security remains a huge concern when it comes to ATMs. We run communication campaigns to make ATM users aware of the danger of accepting assistance from strangers, and we’ve inserted mirrors on the front of the machines to help users be aware of anyone approaching them and so on.
"Now, with ‘tap-and-go’, we make sure the card never leaves the customer’s hand,” says Pierre Bornman, Absa head of alternative channels within thephysical channels business at Absa everyday banking."
Solar uninterrupted power supplies (UPSs) to Absa ATMs will also be rolled out in remote and urban areas to ensure access during load shedding.
The uninterrupted power-supply devices offer an average uptime of 12 hours to Absa ATMs.
Absa’s managing executive for everyday banking physical channels, Tshiwela Mhlantla, says "One cannot underestimate the difference a saving of a few seconds makes at the ATM. Importantly, the card does not leave the customer’s hand. We have commenced with the activation ... and expect to expand the distribution of the technology more widely in the near future."
