Secure Authentication for ATM transactions using NFC technology

Automated Teller Machine (ATM) is a convenient way to meet the banking needs of the users. However, the use of debit card or other types of cards during ATM transactions has some problems like prone to ATM skimming, magnetic strips of card getting damaged, manufacturing and transportation cost of cards, longer time to authenticate users etc. The objective of this research is to consider smart phone in Near-Field Communication (NFC) Card Emulation mode as an alternative to ATM cards. In NFC the distance between the respective devices needs to be very small (typically less than 4 cm) which makes NFC ideal for making payments and for other transactions involving sensitive/private data. In the proposed system, in order to authenticate at the ATM kiosk, the user needs to swipe his/her smart phone in front of the NFC reader. An ATM card is not required for authentication and the system will still have a stronger security compared to the system in which ATM card was used. Security analysis and threat modelling shown in this paper highlights the security strength of the system during authentication.