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Coming to Wells Fargo: Card-free ATMs

Posted at 4:02 PM, Jan 10, 2017
and last updated 2017-01-10 16:02:59-05

You’ll soon be able to take cash out of a Wells Fargo ATM without using a card.

Starting this spring, customers can use their smartphones to withdraw money.

Here’s how it will work: You’ll log in to the Wells Fargo app and request an eight-digit access code. At the kiosk, you’ll enter the access code and your regular ATM code to start the transaction.

Wells Fargo is eager to restore its reputation after the revelation that it created millions of bank and credit card accounts without telling customers. New accounts plunged last year after the scandal broke.

Wells Fargo plans to convert all its 16,000 ATMs to include the card-free option. Wells says it expects to be the first bank to do the full conversion.

“That’s the game changer for us, that we’ll be doing this to all of our ATMs,” Wells Fargo spokeswoman Hilary O’Byrne told CNNMoney.

JPMorgan Chase is testing the card-free option in California, Florida and Ohio. Bank of America is reportedly adding it, too. Bank of America did not immediately return a request for comment.

Wells Fargo was forced to pay a $185 million fine because of the fake accounts scandal, and CEO John Stumpf resigned in October. The company is still under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

It has pledged to revamp its sales culture.