In order to use the service, customers call 1-877-FIND-ATM, and state their coordinates to request the location of the nearest MasterCard ATM. They can then choose to have a text message sent to their cell phone detailing the location of the nearest teller.
The new service, which works will all major mobile carriers in the US, is provided by MasterCard to cardholders free of charge, although carrier text message rates may apply.
The new SMS offering augments the company’s existing telephone and web-based ATM locator services, which list over one million ATM locations worldwide. While these services have proven popular, with over two million cardholders using them each year to locate nearby ATMs, MasterCard found that, with the telephone service, cardholders were too often scrambling to write down the ATM location during the voice-activated locator service.
MasterCard’s new SMS option for ATM Locator provides an invaluable service to cardholders, said Jonathan Cetnarski, senior vice president of information products and services at MasterCard Advisors. People don’t always have a pen or paper handy to write the ATM locations down, so SMS becomes an intuitive and convenient way to get the information they need.
