HUMO network offers contactless money withdrawal
ATMs of the HUMO network in Uzbekistan now support contactless withdrawal of money. It is possible to get cash by touching the card with a sensor with a built-in NFC chip. After that, the customer enters a PIN code and the amount he wants to withdraw.
Over the last few years, the country has been modernizing its payment infrastructure owing to which a lot of new ATMs with contactless withdrawal support appeared. Now the list is completed by the devices of the HUMO network. The latter is a national inter-bank system, and its operator is the national processing center licensed by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan.
By the end of last year, the number of HUMO terminals across the country amounted to more than 4,300 devices, cards issued about 8 million.
HUMO operates since 2019, the network supports Visa, UnionPay, and Mastercard cards, they can be paid contactless in the subway and in stores. In addition to ATMs, the network has developed a mobile app for contactless payments, provided there is NFC on the smartphone.
The ATMs for contactless withdrawal differ from the standard ones in the presence of the NFC module, which functions on the principle of radio communication. In order to get money in this way, the bank card must also have a similar chip. When used contactless, the module works at a distance of up to 20 cm, that is, the card can be kept at a distance from the ATM. The connection is established in less than 0.1 seconds, and the ATM identifies the device and asks to enter the PIN code. Contactless withdrawal implies a transaction not only when holding a physical card, but also a smartphone with the NFC function and Apple Pay or Google Pay, as well as smartwatches or key fobs.
Contactless ATMs are much more efficient than standard ATMs, and card identification is faster. In addition, contactless interaction extends the life of a bank card. Standard equipment requires inserting and removing the card to get cash, which in intensive use leads to mechanical damage and impaired reading. In addition, in the face of the COVID-19 threat, contactless interaction is much safer. According to research by American scientists, the virus can stay active on plastic surfaces for up to 3 days.
The first contactless ATMs appeared in Spain in 2011. Then they were installed by the bank la Caixa in Barcelona, Palma, and Sitges. In Russia, the device was installed in 2015 by Alfa-Bank, in Ukraine – in 2016 by UniCredit Bank.
Now such devices are installed by a huge number of banks, which simplifies the procedure for cash withdrawal, regardless of whether the client has a card or just a smartphone.
