Contactless cash withdrawals now possible at Erste banka's ATMs

Zagreb, 23 March 2017 – Erste&Steiermärkische Bank d.d. (Erste banka), in cooperation with Erste Group Card Processor, Mastercard and its long-term partners in the ATM segment, Printec Croatia and Asseco SEE, has developed the contactless cash withdrawals service at its ATMs. This is a major technological breakthrough for Erste banka, which has become the first bank in Croatia and among the first in Europe to develop this service. The service is available not only to Erste banka clients but also to the clients of other banks who own contactless payment cards.

Currently there are 132 contactless ATMs installed and the plan is to activate a total of 310 contactless ATMs by the end of 2017. When making a contactless cash withdrawal, the payment card is in the user's hands the entire time which contributes to greater security: it is enough to place the payment card against the ATM's contactless card reader and the transaction will be completed in a matter of seconds. Users must input their PIN number to authorize any transaction, regardless of the amount.

"Previously clients would have to spend 25-30 seconds at the ATM to make a cash withdrawal. Now, with the introduction of this service, this time has been cut to around just 15 seconds. Our task is to make financial services simpler, more accessible and faster to use for our clients, but never at the expense of security. We adhered to that principle when developing this service, and will continue to adhere to it," explained Igor Strejcek, head of the Direct Channels Division, adding: "We are very grateful to our long-term loyal partners Mastercard, Printec Croatia and Asseco SEE, as well as our internal partner EGCP, for the development of this service."

"Croatians consider digitalization to be a positive process and want more innovation in various areas, including financial services. This confirms that the path towards greater digitalization which Mastercard® is undertaking is necessary. That is precisely why we are happy that we are advancing our long-term cooperation with Erste banka by supporting this innovative project that expands the use of contactless technology, thus creating possibilities for introducing digital wallets," said Edin Sarac, head of Key Accounts at Mastercard.