Westpac has enabled customers to activate a new debit or credit card through their smartphone camera, becoming the first bank in Australia to do so.
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Customers of the bank can now make use of optical character recognition technology to switch on their new card in a flash through the Westpac Mobile Banking app on their iPhone or Android smartphone.
Customers can activate the card in three steps by scanning their card, confirming the card details captured are correct, and tapping to activate.
The new feature will be available for Visa, MasterCard and American Express credit cards and debit MasterCard cards from November 2015.
Westpac Group Consumer Bank chief information officer Mike Wood said: "We want to make mobile banking as easy and convenient as possible for our customers and that’s why we have launched card activation by smartphone camera.
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By GlobalData"The new feature is a timesaver for our customers who can activate their card when and where it suits them without the need to call customer service, visit a local branch or manually type in card numbers.
"With over two million debit and credit cards activated by our customers in the past year alone, we are delighted to be the first financial institution to offer customers a simple solution that is safe and secure via the Westpac Mobile Banking app."
