Introduction

The latest technology trends have facilitated the transactions and operational processes of the banking sector. Any individual can access its facilities any-time and any place. But, these services bring immeasurable security risks- “A well-known fact to banks and customers”.

Banks are cautious to secure their customers’ interest from ATM frauds while offering various facilities. Some of the most common ATM fraud threats are skimming, physical attack, card jamming, etc.

Let’s read all about them.

What is Micro ATM

A Micro ATM is defined as a mini version of an ATM. It is similar to modified Point-of-Sale (POS) machines. The ATM’s mini version connects the banking network through GPRS to perform bank transactions. This machine provides the facility to swipe a card smoothly.

The initiative of Micro ATM aims to reduce the difference between the availability and need for cash. It is run by an agent along with a card reader.

With the Micro ATM, the unbanked rural people can smoothly access micro banking services. It is broadly used in Aadhaar enabled payment systems.

The Micro ATM supports the following types of inter-operable transactions:

• Withdrawal
• Bank account mini-statement
• Fund transfer
• Deposit, and
• Balance enquiry

Threats to Micro ATM

1. Skimming

It is a theft of confidential debit/credit card information. A hacker uses this method to acquire the victims’ card numbers. They use a small electronic device near the card inserting slot and collect the card details of thousand of people at one time.

2. Data vulnerabilities

There are three fields that include data at rest, data in memory and transit. You should pay attention to them for preventing Pos data weaknesses.

Data in memory is vulnerable when the card data is acquired into the system through the POS devices. It is impossible to resist whether the attacker has access to the POS system or not.

A user can reduce this risk by encrypting the card data as early as possible. Point-to-point Encryption is also used to address the encryption memory data issue.

3. Social Engineering

It is a sort of attack that can be engineered at banking and POS facility centers. The hacker gains the trust of the card owner as a staff member.

Best Practices to secure the usage of Micro ATMs

• Be sure there are no strange objects in the ATMs’ insertion panel to avoid skimming.
• Cover the PIN pad when you are putting the PIN.
• Change your ATM PIN regularly
• Tear the receipt of the transaction securely after reviewing.
• Keep checking your bank statements. If any unauthorized charges or withdrawal occurs, do inform the bank promptly.
• Provide advance notice to debit/credit card issuers for address change.
• Tear anything into pieces where you have written a credit card number.
• Do not accept the card if the bank has delivered it with a seal open or damaged one.
• Do not use a debit/credit card to write a PIN.
• Do not reveal your ATM PIN/ Credit card number to any unknown person.
• Don’t be fooled by a stranger who tries to assist you in using the Micro ATM.
• Don’t give the card to any person even if he/she says they are a bank agent.
• Do not share or transfer your account information with an unknown source.
• Contact the bank or service provider if there is a suspected transaction or card is lost.

Best actions for service providers to secure Micro ATMs

• The service provider must keep the Micro ATMs’ software and anti-virus up to date.
• Inform the user about its security best practices and basic functions.
• If there is no activity in the machine, the service provider must lock it.

Conclusion

Micro ATMs have reduced the availability of cash requirements. Through this device, customers can access all the primary facilities offered by the bank. A customer requires a valid card and PIN to transact at a micro ATM. Besides this, they must be aware of the threats they can face while doing transactions.

FAQs

Q1. How many free transactions are allowed at micro ATMs?

According to the RBI, a user can do a minimum of 5 transactions at a micro ATM.

Q2. How does a Micro ATM work?

An agent operates the micro ATM machine with a card reader. Customers can perform all the basic transactions with a valid domestic card issued by the bank.

Q3. What precautions should a customer take if the card is stolen or lost?

The customer should promptly contact the card-issuing bank on perceiving the card lost/ theft issue. They must request the bank to block the card.

Q4. What is a PIN?

A PIN is a numeric password provided by the bank to the customer. The bank asks the customer not to unveil the PIN to any person. Also, the customer must change the PIN at a periodic time.