Empays Payment Systems India, a cloud-based payment solutions provider, has joined forces with Mastercard to enable contactless ATM withdrawals in India.

Under this partnership, Mastercard will help Empays to launch a cardless ATM solution in order to mitigate the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

At the ATM where the service is enabled, users can open their banking app and scan the QR code, enter the amount and withdraw the cash without inserting their card.

Commenting on the partnership, Mastercard South Asia division president Porush Singh said: “In the current unprecedented times, this has taken on an urgency and importance as we balance between the need to protect ourselves and the need to continue transactions essential to maintain our daily lives.

“With cardless ATMs, users will be able to withdraw cash safely by completely eliminating the need to use a physical card or touch an ATM PIN pad, while providing the security of an EMV transaction, making it safe, quick and easy for people to access cash.

Empays will incorporate the requirements of the Mastercard cardless ATM to upgrade its flagship IMT Payment System, thus enabling EMV-capable cash dispensing.

Empays, which is authorized as a national payment system by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), powers 40,000 ATMs in the country for cardless cash withdrawals.

Currently, it uses SMS technology for the cardless withdrawals. The new solution will soon be available to new and existing IMT member banks in India, following a pilot.