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NatWest suspends GetCash app

ReenaSewraz
by Lovemoney Staff ReenaSewraz on 09 October 2012  |  Comments 1 comment

NatWest has temporarily moved the GetCash service offline amid claims of fraud.

NatWest suspends GetCash app

The GetCash app which allows NatWest customers to withdraw cash from an ATM without a debit card has been suspended amid fears that the service is being targeted by fraudsters.

The app was launched back in June and gives customers the ability to request a six-digit PIN, which can be entered at any of the bank’s cashpoints within a three-hour timeframe to withdraw money, as we wrote about in GetCash: NatWest and RBS unveil cash withdrawals using smartphones.

GetCash allowed NatWest customers to withdraw up to £100 a time from an ATM with their smartphone or iPad. But you could make more than one request in a day up to your account limit.

The app was designed to help those who had forgotten or lost their bank card and was convenient for those that preferred not to carry it around with them.

But after just four months GetCash appears to have been used fraudulently by thieves.

BBC Radio 4’s Money Box programme revealed that the service had been used  to steal hundreds of pounds from some customers.

One man who spoke on the show reported he had £950 taken in 11 withdrawals over three days even though he had never signed up for the service.

NatWest claims this man’s experience was down to him responding to a phishing scam. Currently you need to supply a combination of card and personal details plus an online banking number in order to set up the banking app on a smartphone.

But now even more cases are coming to light. 

NatWest has now pulled the service for what it told MoneyBox was a ‘planned update’ but which could see the daily allowance limit cut.

When we spoke to NatWest a representative told us that the service disruption was not to do with the claims of fraud, but it was a temporary measure to make changes to the limits in-line with customer use. However it would also encompass an update on security.

NatWest expects to get the GetCash app back online by next week.

More on mobiles, cash and fraud:

Why cash and credit cards don't mix!

The UK's best Cash ISAs

The five most common types of fraud

Apple's Passbook app: rubbish mobile wallet for your iPhone

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Comments (1)

  • Mike Wheatley
    Love rating 0
    Mike Wheatley said

    These kinds of fraud cases where small amounts of money are taken from accounts over a period of time can often be difficult for companies and consumers to track and proactively resolve before large losses are incurred. The key here is being able to deliver timely response that effectively tackles the problem before the damage is done.

    Fortunately, technology is now available, based on innovative behavioural change identification algorithms, which gives organisations the opportunity to tackle this kind of issue by rapidly delivering accurate, early indications of fraud, enabling businesses to stop it before it even starts.

    By applying this kind of algorithmic modelling to every single customer and each individual transaction in real-time and profiling all behaviour, it is now possible to stop fraudulent behaviour at source to the obvious benefit of the commercial organisation and the end consumer concerned.

    Mike Wheatley, chief executive officer, Featurespace

    Report on 09 October 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves

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