MANAMA: Citi Bahrain has become the first international bank to offer cardless withdrawals from its ATMs using the tokenisation service.
Benefit, the kingdom’s only operator of electronic financial transactions, announced that the service offered by Citi allows the bank’s customers to withdraw cash using the BenefitPay e-wallet app on their smartphones, without the need of swiping or inserting their debit cards.
Tokenisation is the process of protecting sensitive data by replacing it with an algorithmically generated number called a token.
This technology has been designed to enhance security and fight online and digital breaches, allow for faster transactions, and greater convenience.
Citi Bahrain is also currently using tokenisation for their Tap & Go services, to accept contactless cards to withdraw money by using near-field communication technology (NFC) only requiring the user to place their smartphone next to a POS machine to complete their contactless payment.
The bank started offering cardless withdrawal since March, becoming the first international bank in the country providing the option, said Citi Bahrain consumer banking head Christoph Geidner.
Benefit assistant general manager for IT Riyad Almaraj said: “This will reduce the necessity of carrying around a debit card, and we anticipate this being available at other banks as well when they follow Citi Bahrain’s lead to promote a cardless ecosystem and increase financial inclusion in the kingdom.”
avinash@gdn.com.bh
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